While Valentine’s Day typically focuses on love with people we know, one of the strongest romantic connections many of us have is with our celebrity crush.
Here are some students’ stories about their most intense shows of devotion for their celebrity crushes.
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“I’ve had an obsession with Shawn Mendes since the age of 13. Ever since I first heard his debut song “Life of the Party,” it was love at first listen.
It wasn’t until the end of grade eleven when my obsession became a little too extreme.
One morning, I woke up and thought, ‘Today is the day I finally meet my boyfriend, Shawn Mendes.’ Like any rebellious 17-year-old, I lied to my parents about my whereabouts, ran to the nearby train station, and bought a one-way ticket to Shawn’s hometown, Pickering, Ont. For the 45-minute ride from Toronto, I blasted his songs in my earphones, feeling like Cinderella on her way to the ball.
I lied to my parents about my whereabouts, ran to the nearby train station, and bought a one-way ticket to Shawn’s hometown, Pickering, Ont.
After what felt like an eternity, I arrived in Pickering and started my search for Shawn. Prior to my arrival, I looked up the locations for Shawn’s favorite restaurants, shops, high school, and I even uncovered his home address. I visited all of these places, just wishing I would catch his eye. Seven hours later, I still hadn’t gotten a glimpse of Shawn, though I may have spotted his dad on their front lawn.
To this day, I still have never felt heartbreak like I did when I returned home without finding Shawn. Though this story probably makes me sound like a crazy person, this adventure is a defining part of my adolescence and forever solidified me as part of the ‘Mendes Army.’”
—Helena Hyams, ArtSci ’20
“Most tweens crush on male celebrities who sweep the covers of magazines or star in the latest Popcorn Pixes. When I was 12, I was going to bed dreaming about Casey Abrams from Season 10 of American Idol.
He played a myriad of instruments, had the beard of a wild animal, and used a deep husky voice to serenade Haley Reinhart, a female American Idol contestant I’ll forever envy.
Assuming Casey had no fans other than me, I sent him a letter in the mail expressing my love for him. I don’t know if his address listed on americanidoladdresses.com was wrong or if he was just too into Haley, but I never heard back.”
—Samantha Fink, ConEd ’20
“I’ve been into Ariana Grande since the sixth grade, when she was co-starring in Nickelodeon’s Victorious and the phrase “thank u, next” meant nothing to anyone. When I discovered she’d be performing in a musical in Los Angeles at the same time my family vacationed there, I thought the planets were aligning for us to begin a show-stopping love story.
I poured my feelings for her into a note written on hotel stationary, proposing we hang out at a viewing party for our shared favourite program, The Amanda Show.
I went up to her after her performance and she graciously signed my phone case, took a picture with me, and called my mom’s camera “dope”—which my mom thought was an insult—before I was escorted away. Distracted by the glory of meeting my crush, I entirely forgot to give Ariana my note.
I ran back to the theatre where a security guard half-heartedly told me he’d try to get my note to Ariana. I thought all hope was lost until I got a notification the next morning that she’d followed me on Twitter. We’ve yet to watch The Amanda Show together, but my offer still stands.”
—Josh Granovsky, ArtSci ’20
“Katharine McPhee should’ve won season five of American Idol—we all know this as fact. So when it was time for her and Taylor Hicks to learn who’d won on finale night in May of 2006, and my mom said she hoped Taylor would win the season, I did the only thing I could think of: I kicked her in the knee as hard as I could.
To my horror, my mom’s wish came true and, a minute later, Taylor Hicks was crowned the American Idol. I cried myself to sleep.
Taylor Hicks was crowned the American Idol. I cried myself to sleep.
Months later, my infatuation with Katharine hadn’t subsided. One day, my mom took her copy of People magazine from the mail and I discovered it came with a cover depicting Katharine meeting her ‘biggest fan.’ Shocked that I wasn’t her biggest fan, I found myself crying again.
In the end, I concluded my seven-year-old self was still Katharine McPhee’s biggest fan, and my mom was out to kill me.”
—Jonathan Karr, ArtSci ’20
Tags
celebrities, student stories, valentine's day
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