The time I… met my celebrity crush

By Daija Hammonds, Managing Editor

Growing up I watched Disney Channel a lot as I’m sure every kid did, but one of my favorites was Wizards of Waverly Place starring Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Gregg Sulkin and Jennifer Stone. I loved Alex Russo’s sassy attitude, the family dynamic and of course the wizard and magic aspect.

One of the relationships that I liked was between Alex and Mason Greyback, played by Gomez and Sulkin, and when it was revealed that Mason was a werewolf, my mind was blown. I thought it was the greatest piece of television. 

Fast forward to 2017, I am 14 and about to graduate from middle school when I get the chance to meet one of my Disney Channel childhood crushes. 

At the time I was staying with my godparents for the weekend along with their nephew, Drew. Drew really wanted to go to Wizard-World, now called Fan-Expo, because he was into gaming and anime. So, my godfather had planned to take him that weekend and asked if I wanted to tag along. I was just personally getting into anime at the time and figured it would be a fun opportunity to explore more. 

What I didn’t know was that there were going to be celebrity guests and I really didn’t expect Sulkin to be there promoting his show “Runaways.” It took me a while to notice he was there as the convention center was huge and we took our time walking around, but then I spotted him and I was in shock. 

I was nervous to ask my godfather if he could pay for a meet and greet pass because it was $80, but I had mentioned that I knew who Sulkin and he offered to buy the past for me. I was so excited, but so nervous because I had never met a famous person before let alone a celebrity crush. 

I was the only one in line so he greeted me right away. He was super nice, smelt really good and gave really good hugs. I told him how much I loved him as Mason and his movie Avalon High, basically just gushing how I had been a fan for years. I got his autograph and we had a really good conversation since there was no one in line behind me. 

That was the highlight of my weekend and possibly my whole life. I will forever tell this story to whoever wants to hear it.