Seeing Jimin’s log from April 2018 made me realise again what a year he had, as an individual and professionally. It was perhaps one of his hardest but also one in which he grew a lot. It was filled with very low lows and some very high highs and barely times in between.
The first few months of the year he struggled with self-acceptance and self-realization. “Who am I? What do I do this for? Where am I going?” seem to have been heavily on his mind. Then he found strength and new understanding of himself and came to a better place.
The comeback happened, Fake love and the album were a huge success and everything was clicking into place.
And then he made a small mistake, he forgot his best friend’s name on a stupid board and the fandom reared its ugly head and bit hard on his vulnerable sides. Accusations, hate, death threats for weeks. A situation so bad that legal actions had to be taken and search bars were cleaned for days on end.
How must he have felt? What did he think? He had just found his meaning again in his chosen life by being together with us. Did he feel disappointed in us? Did he feel doubts? I only hope he knew then how many of us loved and defended him, that we cherish him.
I guess he moved on from that, too. Did he have any choice, anyway? Life moves on and you live and learn. I hope he wasn’t too hurt, though I know I would be and he probably was, as well. He’s human, after all.
The next ablum and comeback came and went with resounding success, BTS travelled, they reconnected as friends and band mates. Amazing things happened and Bangtan flew higher.
In the midst of this, another hit and once again on Jimin.
A careless wardrobe choice, ugly political interests and media scrutiny led to a lot of slander and defamation, blame. Caught in a political crossfire, Jimin’s name was dragged through the mud and with it Bangtan’s as well. One of the worst times the fandom had seen and yet again Jimin suffered the brunt of it.
I hope he didn’t blame himself too much. I hope he knew we love and support him. I hope he saw how Japanese ARMYs persevered and fought back..
In the end, that came and went, too and time passed, giving space to new and better things. To more shows, to their first studium tour and journeys to new and exciting places.
To cheers and ads all over the world for the angel’s day, to injuries and mocking, to love and hate, to awards, to work and more work..
What and year did Jimin have. It was turbulent and unstable, dynamic and not always in the best way. It presented him with a lot of challenges that he took one by one and hopefully overcame to become a better, happier, more wholesome version of himself.
Knowing all of this, “Promise” has an even more special meaning to me, now. It is the culmination of all he went through the past year, of his journey to self-acceptance and a better place with his own self. It is a healing, reflective song, meant to sooth and inspire. It is Jimin’s essence in a music piece.
It a gift to us but it is mainly a gift to himself.
I’m glad the world is seeing more and more how extraordinary he is, as a person and as an artist. He shines brighter than ever now, tops every brand ranking, breaks records with his work, trends everywhere and it is rightfully so. He deserves it all.
Jimin, who loves all of us, who never leaves a stage’s corner unvisited, who writes sweet messages to ARMY in the middle of the night. Jimin who always gives his best in everything, who is amazing, brilliant, yet humble, sweet, supportive. Who never blew on anyone’s candle to make his own shine brighter, who only brings joy and light to those around him and to us, eventhough we’ll probably never deserve him.
Jimin who is the most beautiful person I know of, from the outside, yes, but most importantly - from the inside.