Not too long, right after the holidays, my best friend from high school decided that it was finally time for me to watch Game of Thrones. It was something friends and family had suggested and urged me to do since the show’s premier so many years back, but I never really got around to it. On paper it was all the things I generally looked for in a show, but for some reason I just didn’t. Maybe it was because I tend to back away from things that are pushed on me. Maybe it was the wrong time. Maybe it was because I didn’t have HBO…

At any rate my high school pal left the entire box set of DVDs on my porch one day and began to nag me via text on a regular basis, “Winter is coming. Have you watched it yet?”

And “Meg, winter is coming.” So, one night with some free time on my hands and nothing good to watch on TV that I hadn’t already binged 1,000 times, I figured, one episode won’t hurt, right? I’m sure it’ll be OK.

Now, but to three months later as I sit here eagerly awaiting the season premier. I am geeked in the most ridiculous way. I’m wearing my “The North Remembers” running tank top and my beloved House Stark Direwolf necklace. I am the epitome of geeky fangirl. And I’m not sorry. OF COURSE I ended up binging all seven seasons. OF COURSE I spent three hours dissecting all of it with my friend when I was done. OF COURSE I’m almost done with the books…

And of course I had to share my excitement here, from the POV of a newer Game of Thrones fan. What is it like to find myself taking this journey, just as it comes to an end? A little weird, but I’m OK it. Better late than never, I say. That’s the beauty of these stories and these fandoms we come to love. It’s also the beauty of living in the age of Netflix and streaming and binge watching. Just like any good epic tale, they are truly meant to live on and on and on because new people continue to enter their world at different times.

I was actually pretty lucky coming in so many years later. The things I knew about the show were minimal (I knew my beloved Sean Bean did not make it to Season 2, and knew that there was a horribly messy wedding somewhere along the way, but that was about it). So for the most part the introduction of each character and setting was new to me and a joy.

I may have been late getting to the Game of Thrones fandom, but luckily I got here just in time. I get to partake in the celebration that is the final chapter of this epic tale and all of the excitement of my fellow fans.

If you haven’t started Game of Thrones of yet, don’t worry. You don’t HAVE to have it binged by this Sunday’s next episode. You have all the time of the world. Though the show technically may be wrapping up in this final season, the story itself is here to stay and ready to take you on it;’s journey whenever you’re ready.

I know I’m not alone here. So tell me, what are some of the fandoms you came in late for?