Misha Collins and the Adrenaline Letdown of a 15 Year Old....
I took my daughter to the Supernatural Convention in Chicago this past weekend October 23-25. We had tickets for Saturday and Sunday. Ellie was very excited to see the actors that she really admired, in particular Misha Collins. She enjoys his quirky sense of humor and kind and funny approach to life.
We had seats so far back that the actors looked like faces on bodies but without a lot of distinguishing characteristics except their height and voices. I decided to get Ellie a photo op with Misha Collins dressed in his character Castiel's costume so she could see one of her heroes close-up, and because some of the money went to RandomActs, a charity Mr. Collins started.
Ellie was so excited that she made a clay keychain in Castiel's likeness. It was pretty cute but she was very bummed out because the wings broke off before she got a chance to give it to him. I got swept up in the fandom too and made him a goofy looking fleece hat since he works in Vancouver and it's effing cold up there.
All day long Ellie was getting more and more anxious about this whole process and I looked at the number on our ticket and it was number 310. I knew we were going to get about 10 seconds for the photo and not be able to talk to him. As we were standing in line Ellie put herself in her Buddhist prayer pose trying to center herself and calm down because she was so excited. I kept reminding her he's just a guy who puts his pants on one leg at a time. She didn't want to hear that, and in fact was sort of mortified that I would say it anywhere within his hearing distance. I knew that the guy was exhausted and just trying to get through the next 15 minutes to the end of the line of photos. He wasn't listening to what people were saying around him.
Our turn came and Ellie told him that she had made him a keychain. He thanked her and I gave him the hat which he put on and we took the picture and it was over in like 10 seconds. They tried to give me back the hat but I told them it was for him.
After we left the photo room Ellie completely melted down. The adrenaline rush was just too much for her 15-year-old soul. She started crying and sobbing with the overwhelming adrenaline rush and let down. She was happy and so excited that he accepted her gift and might even use it to put his keys on it. AND she couldn't believe he said, "Thank you."
She asked me how I could be so calm. I told her it's because I'm a doctor and I deal with people all of the time and I get to see famous people naked. I made her laugh---It's not true, but it was funny. (I kind of felt sorry for Misha Collins because he looked completely done in.)
That experience made me think, what do celebrities do with all of the gifts that they receive from their fan base? Do they keep them? Do they throw them in the garbage? Do they donate them? Do they go through them and pick out the coolest stuff to keep?
I didn't want to burst Ellie's bubble because she was so very happy but I suspect that a lot of the things they get are put in boxes and donated to charity. I couldn't tell her that though because she put some work into this gift, she made it with her own hands, and then got to give it to her favorite celebrity.
Some fantasies you have to believe in. If Misha Collins ever happens to read this, I hope you got some sleep that night and thanks for saying "thank you" to my daughter. It meant the world to her. Oh, and I hope you wear the hat in good health (You know, since I'm a doctor and all.) And enjoy the keychain Ellie made.
