I Bumped Into A Celebrity On The Street And My Reaction Was Not What You Think It Was
I like to think I am a normal human being, one that also considers everyone else to be fairly normal. Living in a bustling city, I do not tend to pay attention to every face that I pass on the street.
However, just the other day I had no choice but to stare at another human being straight in the face and that face happened to belong to someone famous. Now, I can already feel the majority of your eyes rolling as you read this, but let me express the surprise and all over confusion I had when this happened.
It is lunchtime. I am at my local over-priced supermarket with a co-worker debating over which bagel we want to purchase, cheese or poppy seed because everyday choices in life are difficult. As this is happening I hear a faint noise behind me. I turn around and come face-to-face with someone I feel as though I know automatically. I stare for a moment and my eyes widen with excitement as I come to realize that this face does not belong to a past friend. It belongs to a fairly well-known celebrity. I was physically blocking his way, as I shift my body we make eye contact again and I swear he gave me a look and smile that said, “Yes, I AM exactly who you think I am.”
Once he was out of sight I came back to my senses and began freaking out to my co-worker that as it turns out, has no idea who he is. The excitement was on me. I watched him like a creepy little stalker pay for his food, but made no attempt to ask for a photo, autograph, hand shake…nothing.
By the time I got back to work, I was kicking myself with disappointment.
The very next day I went through the same routine of walking to the over-priced supermarket. This time there was no sighting of my celeb crush. That was until I started to walk across the street back to the office and lo and behold, there he was again, this time walking toward me. I decided to pull-up my big girl pants and ask for a photo. After all, this guy isn’t Jesus, he is a normal person. I immediately stopped him as he waited for the light to turn so he could walk across the street. People were starting to gather around us, all waiting for that same light to turn. In a new fit of panic I simply told him he was amazing in the television show he performs on. He smiled that gorgeous smile and said thank you. I blushed and took off like a five-year old about to pee her pants. I did not whisper my comment; I said it loudly making heads turn toward him. This poor guy was probably happy as a clam incognito and I had just ousted him in the middle of the street. Idiot!
Why was it so hard for me to do this? All I wanted was a damn picture and I could barely say “Hi.”
If you are not in a position where you shelled out hundreds of dollars for a meet and greet, or purchased tickets to an event you know a celebrity you love will be attending, it can be quite intimidating to just see them out of nowhere. Your body tenses up, your thoughts run far too fast, and the things you have always dreamed of saying come out all wrong, or worse, not at all.
I get it! I am making a big deal over nothing, but level with me here. We are often guilty of putting people that are famous up on this grand pedestal for reasons that really make no sense. Sure they may live like kings and have friends in high places, but at the end of the day they are trying to obtain the same goal we all are. To live a happy life.
I realize now what it truly was about this whole situation that had me razzed. It is beyond awkward to just waltz up to someone you do not know, celebrity or not and speak to them. You do not know what kind of mood they are in and where they are heading. I tried to put myself in his place. Would I really want to be stopped at a crosswalk in front of a bunch of people and be asked to pose for a picture? Or, be stopped in a supermarket for that matter? Not likely. However, that is not to say this particular celebrity would have said no, or not have been kind and generous with his personal time. Perhaps he would have tossed his hands in the air with glee at the thought of taking another picture with another fan while on his way to his job, yoga class, or lunch date. The sad part is I will never know for sure because I was too chicken to ask for something so simple from someone just like you and me.