Am I A Cult Follower?

In the new season of BoJack Horseman, there are a couple of themes visited that really cut to the core of me. First there was Bill Cosby, which makes me sad on so many levels (and not in a support of Bill Cosby way.) And then improv comedy. Oh boy.

They joke that improv is a cult and make it VERY clear that it is not a metaphor for anything else; they are saying improv is basically a cult. It’s funny… because it’s true. I mean that in the best way possible. From my personal experience, I basically bow down to the improv greats (TJ Jagadowski, Mick Napier, Susan Messing, Drew Carey, etc.) and every time I went to Chicago, I felt like I was going on a pilgrimage to mecca. Well, a pilgrimage that involved a lot of alcohol, drugs (done by other people because COMEDY IS MY DRUG!) and pretending to be a lesbian with my friend Julia on the dance floor of Howl at the Moon.

I have a semi-unhealthy obsession with comedy. My obsession with comedy started with religiously watching All That, Mad TV and Saturday Night Live every Saturday as a kid. I read every book (and discuss it at length with ANYONE who will listen… just ask my not-so-enthused co-workers) and I let it take over my life so much that I quit my full-time job to pursue it full time a few years ago... and heavily go into debt. I’m basically a cult follower of the improv philosophy. Oddly enough, my (current) day job is at a company that has incorporated the “yes, and” philosophy into its culture… so I literally can’t get away if I tried.

Outside of comedy, I also tend to have religion-level fascinations with whatever I am into at any certain point in time. When I was into the Backstreet Boys, I was into the Backstreet Boys. And just last week, I was really into these all-natural fig bars for breakfast every morning. (I don't think that one actually counts, but you get the point.) I have a tendency of overwhelming myself with things I’m fixated by/interested in and I think it would get me into some trouble if I stumbled into an interesting conversation with a Scientologist. I don’t think I would trust myself. 

So maybe I am a cult follower… but I don’t think I want to test it to figure it out for sure.

Also, I feel like I really need to note that Drew Carey was a joke. I know “if you have to explain a joke it’s not funny” but, I really feel the need to explain that joke.