Starstruck

By: Emily Eileen Moreshead

I don’t believe that there’s a soul among us who has not been enamored by a ‘star’ or ‘celebrity’ (for lack of better words as I am not a fan of praising normal humans for their jobs) and felt the kind of euphoric high that comes from meeting them, chatting with them, discovering how normal they are…it’s quite a trip!

I was an obsessive compulsive fan of Days of our Lives beginning on July 12, 1993 and this compulsion was at its peak when I reached high school and college in the mid to late 90’s and early 00’s. When I finally met most of my favorite ‘characters’ in 2005 and 2006 and several instances before and after, the excitement and amazement in my eyes and heart were hard to fully describe. I talked for hours with some, had few words with others, and photographs taken with all of the actors. It was a time in my life I will never forget. I adore acting and the theatre and the thrill of performing, learning lines, spouting words from creative genius I call writers…

It changed me.

I still love watching my favorite soap no question, but it’s different. It’s not an obsession. I grew up and moved on and I believe the catalyst was meeting the actors. At that moment they became human and not celebrity. They were just like me, working and surviving in a field that constantly changes.

It’s like the wind.

Last December when I moved and needed to purge most of my childhood, I spent the better part of three hours tossing out hundreds of old VHS tapes of the soap opera I once watched nightly, reviewing many and memorializing dates in my mind’s catalog. I cried. And I’m not an outwardly emotional person but I cried. It was deeply upsetting to me and painful to watch my once vital tapes become garbage. But it needed to happen. Without it, the clutter would continue and at the time I needed to purge my world as well as my material goods.

But being star struck doesn’t have to be negative. It is different now but I still get giddy when I hear the Daytime Emmy Awards announced, when an actor acknowledges my Twitter tweet or an Instagram comment. It’s still fun and it’s still happiness. And happiness is always needed, if only for a moment.

Stay star struck, please. For me. And for joy of life.

What makes you star struck? Let us know!