An obsession for me takes on various forms of preoccupation or compelling motivations.  Take my latest obsession: riding boots.  I have searched high and low to find the right pair of boots.  I’m always on the look out.  You will most likely see my eyes wandering to people’s feet when I’m at the mall, target or at work.  I actually really liked a pair of boots that I saw on a co-worker only to find out that the vendor had them especially made for her and we don’t sell them.  Great.

Some other examples.

Sometimes I will become obsessed with a song and I listen to it repetitively. A Lot. Like, Over and Over and Over.  And Over again.

When I really like a book I’m reading, I have to read it until I finish.  This means I read it every where, at any time and will sometimes stay up all night to finish.  All night. No sleep because I’m reading.

Food.  I’ll only want a certain food for a while.  At every meal.  Like salads, or strawberries, sometimes Chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies.  Why, cookies?  Who knows – Webster’s did say it was an unreasonable idea.

Photography – I’m sure I’m not the only one that does this, but I’ve noticed that sometimes I will take more than 100 pictures of the same thing – llamas, lizards, monkeys, the Eiffel tower, sunsets, the dogs, our child.  The realization never comes until I’m looking at the photos with a friend or family member.  That’s the Eiffel tower from below, above, the side, from across the street, during the day, at night, lit up, not lit up, in color, sepia, and black and white, with a random stranger walking in front of it, from the bus, from the street.  Really.

Anyway, that’s how I define obsession.  Anything that I do over and over – sometimes it’s healthy; sometimes it’s not; sometimes I call it passion; sometimes my obsession lasts for a nanosecond.  Wait, maybe that has to do with my attention span.

PS.  Did you know that “Obsession” is a 1985 song recorded by New Wave synth-dance group Animotion. The song hit number six in the United States, and number five in the United Kingdom in early 1985, helped by a distinct video that received heavy rotation on MTV.  I’m so going to check that out on iTunes later.  New Wave, can’t wait.