Few things in life can compare to the excitement of meeting a celebrity in person, especially one as gracious and friendly as Zachery Levi. Zac, as he introduces himself, is as charming in real life as he is in his two big roles: Chuck from the greatest TV show of all time, Chuck, and Flynn Rider from the Disney cartoon Tangled, which is one of the best Disney movies ever made. This past weekend I had the privilege of meeting him because he’s in a Broadway play called First Date, which was the funniest play I’ve ever seen. It had the audiences laughing more than The Book of Mormon, which is a blockbuster musical from the makers of South Park. With three amazing roles, Zac is clearly about quality not quantity.
I would like to point out that I’ve worked really hard to be a man. I’ve developed a social filter… at least compared to what I used to have… and to use my logic over emotions when I talk no matter how angry or hurt I may feel. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I would go so far as to say I’m really, really good at this, but that completely changed when I met Zac. Seeing him 10 feet away, my brain went on hyper mode trying to compute if it was really him. It was crazy. It was like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory being given a napkin used by Leonard Nimoy. Fortunately, I was able to get enough composure to say hi in a semi normal voice. When Zac spoke to me, however, I instantly turned into a 14 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. I’m not 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure I sprouted pigtails and my pants transformed into a skirt. Fortunately, I was able to refrain from screaming “I want your baby,” and I didn’t cry… at least from my eyes. I may have wet my pants a little… although, I’m hoping that was sweat.
I will say I can now better understand screaming fans. It was so weird because in that moment where Zac acknowledged me, my IQ dropped about 50 points (it could’ve been more; I was too dumb to tell), which really set me back when I was already trying to silence the voice in my head: “It’s him; it’s him; it’s really him. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Uh oh, I’ve forgotten how to breathe… how do I breathe? I’ve totally forgotten how to breathe. Am I going to die? I am going to die. Who cares? I’m talking to Zachery Levi!”
I know it sounds a little pathetic – or a lot – for me to be so excited to meet a person; a person with a really cool job; a person who’s been able to kiss two of the most beautiful women (Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck and Krysta Rodrieguez from the play), but he represents something more to me. Chuck is a show that gives me hope. I’ve watched the seasons a bunch of times (I’ll have it on in the background) because I find it so encouraging. There is a lot of darkness in this world, especially on TV, so it’s nice to have something with a positive message about personal strength, family and love. The show is essentially about a guy who starts off in a position of… well, a loser, but he ends up realizing how talented and strong he actually is through the support of loved ones and great opportunities. Over the course of the 5 seasons he becomes a man of great strength and ability. It’s a message that a dreamer like me finds inspiring because I want that. I want the opportunity to prove myself and to achieve great things. I think it’s fair to say this is something most men want to have. Thus, since Zac represents all of this goodness to me, he represents a lot; hence the profuse sweating I mentioned earlier… yes, sweating.
The best part of this story… okay, the second best… is that Zac is even more charming and friendly than his characters. He was a genuinely nice and engaging person who knows how to make you feel special. This means, not only did I meet him, but meeting him was as awesome as I could have dreamed. The best part of this story is that after meeting him in the street, I was later able to meet him again after the show for pictures and he remembered my name. Zac remembered my name. In that moment I was fortunately too shocked to do anything too stupid. I was just “UUUUUuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh…” (nerdy computer voice) brain not computing. Of course now I’m wondering if he remembered me because after he first met me he was like: “Did that guy wet his pants or was he sweating a lot?” Either way it doesn’t matter to me because meeting him and being treated so well was the most exciting experience I’ve ever had. Whether it’s sad or not doesn’t matter because this was a special moment for me, and I’m very grateful Zac was able to be so gracious.
If I wanted to increase my anxiety after meeting Zac – why would I want to do this? I don’t know, but people like me do this all the time without realizing it – I’d focus on what I should have said or shouldn’t have said. Sound familiar? I could also focus on how pathetic it is that meeting a celebrity is the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced; I must live a boring life. Or I could think that the rest of my life is downhill because I’ll never have anything as exciting happen again. The unfortunate truth is people with anxiety and depression are likely to focus on these things. Fortunately, I’ve learned to push myself to focus on the positives. I can be grateful I wasn’t more embarrassing and that Zac was as awesome as he was. I could also focus on the idea that if something this awesome can happen to me, who knows what awesome things are in store for me in the future. See the difference? The one way of thinking makes us embarrassed and sad while the other makes us grateful and excited. This is why they say you have the power to be happy because it’s all in how you choose to see things. Perception has a major effect on anxiety levels.
This week may you push yourself to see the positives in all your circumstances and to push the “should haves” and other negative thoughts out of your mind in order to enjoy your life to its fullest.
Rev Chad David, Emotional Sex, emotional tune up