The Titanic

I completely understand why so many people are fascinated by the Titanic.  It's this epic tragedy that should have never happened.  The sheer amount of things that went wrong is almost too hard to believe.  I get the disbelief and the emotions that the tragedy creates.  Still, it's so utterly depressing that I wish I wasn't so intrigued by it.

I've seen the Titanic movie just like everyone else, and I've read more than my fair share of stories based around the Titanic.  I've even been to the Titanic Museum.  I don't know why I put myself through the emotional turmoil I know will come from reading about people dying yet again, but I still read them every time.  The majority of the time they're love stories, and it's a good bet that only one member of the couple will die.  I know this going in, but it still destroys me every time.  I think part of the appeal is that I don't typically get too emotional when I read sad things.  There are just a few things that manage to make me an emotional mess for the next day or so after reading, and every single story based around the Titanic that I've read has managed that.  I kind of hate it.

Every time I finish one, I tell myself I'll never read one again.  I know how it ends.  It's too emotional.  I'm not doing that to myself anymore.  Then, as soon as I find another one I have to read it.  I don't know why, but I find it so fascinating that I'm just drawn to it.  I don't think there are many things that can inspire such pure emotions in someone than being on a sinking ship.  It's not something you can run from (unless you were the lucky few who managed to get on lifeboats), and I think that's what makes it so intriguing to me.  Well, that and the fact that it was the ship that was never supposed to sink but did anyway.

Now they're building the Titanic II, an exact replica of the original, and I'm pretty much glued to any news on the subject.  You better believe I'm going to be following it closely in the future.  I don't consider myself superstitious, but that ship is going to have quite the publicized maiden voyage, and I plan on hanging on every bit of it.

I don't think I'll ever fully understand my fascination with the Titanic, but I'm sure I'll continue to be just as fascinated with it in the future, even if I kind of hate myself for it.