The Best Birthday Gift Ever!

"I MET ALICIA KEYS!!"

It's only been a day, yet I still feel as if this was a dream. Now, some of you might be thinking "what's the big deal she's just a celebrity?" The BIG deal is that she is my idol. Everyone has that one person that they admire wholeheartedly and she is that person for me. The way this all happened is kind of surreal and proves to me that it was definitely meant for me to meet her. I am a first degree stalker. Not the "sit outside your window and literally follow your every move" kind of stalker. I'm more the "I like to keep up with everything happening in her life so I have to subscribe to every possible media outlet to know what's going on" kind of stalker. If you don't already know, Alicia Keys is producing a new play on Broadway entitled "Stick Fly." My birthday is next week and I told my mom I wanted her to buy me a ticket to opening night. The reason being that this would have hopefully secured me to catch a glimpse of Alicia. I kept pressing the issue until something happened on Tuesday night. 

We were in the kitchen and I got an e-mail (of course) on my blackberry letting me know that there would be a meet and greet the following afternoon with Alicia Keys and the cast of the play. The catch; you had to purchase your ticket in person that morning. I immediately began screaming as if the e-mail said that I had won dinner with Alicia herself. I told my mom I needed money for the ticket and had to call out of work for the morning. Things needed to get done! My mom didn't have the money on her and said I'd have to wait until later that night for my dad to get home. Who has that kind of time?! I called a good friend who was generous enough to loan me the money to make this dream come true. It's funny how my mind works. I was on steroids. I was bouncing up and down and driving everyone in my house crazy, leading my mother to say "If you really do meet her I'm not coming home from work tomorrow."

I couldn't sleep. I had to charge my phone and camera. What was I gonna wear? Would I really get to speak to her? Was I gonna get all amped up to see her only to be disappointed and not get a chance to? There was no risking this even happening. I had to make sure I was the first person on line. I fell asleep only because I didn't want to meet her with bags under my eyes. Otherwise I'm sure I would've stayed up all night anticipating what was sure to be one of the greatest moments of my life. After waking up and getting myself together, I grabbed some breakfast, drove to the bus stop, and took the bus into NYC. It still hadn't hit me what was about to happen. After walking a few blocks to the theater, I was clearly the first person there. Obviously, it was only 8am!! The box office opened at 10 and the meet and greet wasn't until noon. I'm crazy, I know. I arrived and stood leaning against a garbage can. If only you could see these crazy New Yorkers hustling and bustling past me giving me awkward stares. I was just standing there smiling as they were power walking to their destinations. 

The cleaning crew was outside. I made friends with them, having casual conversation. I listened to my ipod and danced around, not realizing there was a camera facing me. I'm sure they must have thought I was nuts. I made some phone calls. Time was going pretty quickly. An old lady came and it looked like she was trying to take my place. I was ready to break out my karate moves. No one was getting in the way of me being first- I don't care how old. I bought my ticket at 10 and made the next line; the official line for the meet and greet. The security was kind enough to point out a few places to go eat and spend some time until noon. "I'm not hungry", I said. He reminded me I had about 2 hours left until this event began. I assured him I was fine more than once until he laughed and walked away. I'm sure he thought I was crazy too. 

I made sure to mingle with almost every staff member, from maintenance workers to people from the ad agency who were setting up. Hey, it's never a bad time to network right? A little after noon they let us know that Alicia was stuck in traffic. I knew that already; I had read her tweet and figured she was on her way. Photographers started piling up, taking pictures, and capturing us on video--I,of course, was the star. (Refer to the picture at the top of this page found on Stick Fly's twitter account) This was starting to seem all too real. As Alicia's car pulled up, my heart dropped. She graciously walked out, bodyguard close by. When she walked past me I almost passed out. "Relax." Alicia and the cast came back outside to take group pictures, which you will find on any media related website. I should have jumped in one of the shots! They took some more pictures as they walked inside and began to sign the posters which were to be given out to everyone who was on the line. 

The cast had to go rehearse, but Alicia stayed behind to greet her fans. She looked at me a few times as she got settled in. Again, my heart dropped to the floor. What do I do? Should I wave or is that too awkward? I just wanted to rush past the staff and run up to her. I finally got the signal to move. I walked up to her and couldn't believe that I was standing there, with Alicia Keys. Is it even crazier that I remember the WHOLE conversation I had with her? I'll spare you all of the details but it was about 2 minutes. I failed to mention earlier that I wrote her a letter. Nothing serious, but 2 minutes wouldn't be enough to cover everything I wanted to say to her. She ensured that she'd read it and signed my poster for me. The whole time she spoke to me she was smiling and paying full attention to me. We were both in the moment, no distractions. I couldn't have been happier. I was secretly afraid she would brush off her fans or be too busy to pay full attention to me, leading me to never like her again. This wasn't the case and she went above and beyond the expectations I had of her as a person. She is a genuine, real person-- and even more beautiful face to face. 

I walked out of there, poster in hand with a big smile on my face. I surprised myself with how calm I reacted, even though I knew I just wanted to scream. But then they'd call security because they'd think I was a psychopath. I got back on my bus, drove to work, and kept looking at my poster. Of course I've had to repeat the story about 30x but every time I say it makes it worth re-living the experience. I'll be at the play tomorrow night and am looking forward to hopefully seeing her again. I'm now positive that it was the first of many one on one conversations that I will be having with Alicia Keys. In a future post I'll explain why I love her so much. For now, I'll just leave it at our first encounter. 

I MET ALICIA KEYS!!!