Meeting Clara

The last assignment in my writing course was a memoir/narrative.  I honestly had such a difficult time choosing an event in my life to write about.  There was so much to choose from, but at the same time I couldn't think of anything worth putting into a story that people would want to read.  So I picked the most recent, emotionally charged event in my life.  In September I went to Edmonton Expo with a few of my very best friends. And this is the tale of what happened (cut down to approximately 800 words...it started out at 1300, and that still didn't include all the details...).  (Shout out to Alex for his pro editing skills - you da bomb diggity.)

Meeting Clara

                This was it - I was going down.  My body was swaying and my vision was going dark.  It had gotten to be too much and I was seriously going to pass out.

                Anticipation for this moment had been building for weeks and now it was finally here.  I was not going to miss it for anything, especially not something as minor as weakness of body.  By sheer force of will, this was going to be the greatest moment of my life, and I was going to be awake for it.  I was going to meet Jenna Coleman.

                My Doctor Who interest (okay, obsession; let's call it what it is) had begun a few months earlier.  My nerd cred had been previously incomplete and I needed to add the show about the time traveling mad man with a box to my repertoire.  Even more rapidly than I expected, I became fully invested in the plots and developed intense feelings (both friendly and romantic) for the characters.  But it was more than your run of the mill fan girl preoccupation.  There was something more to this show. 

                Being a fairly avid TV watcher, I had related to several characters through my life, seeing bits of myself in them.  I was never quite as good as they were though.  I always aspired to be as beautiful or smart or cool as the ones that I most looked up to.  But then came the day that Clara Oswald was introduced onto the show.

                I WAS Clara.  In absolutely every way.  Every quirk she had, every mannerism, everything she said, every way she responded in every situation - it was exactly what I would have done.  Watching Clara, I never had to wish I could be as smart as her to come up with a clever plan, or be as witty as her to come up with sharp retorts, or be as cool as her to be worthy of being the Doctor's companion.  Jenna Coleman's character made me see that I was exactly the kind of person that could do impossible things.  I was important.  I was Clara, and Clara was me.

                Finally the day of the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo arrived.  Jenna Coleman was making an appearance and I was scheduled for a photo op with her.  That morning I was running on pure adrenaline.  I selected an outfit similar to one that Clara wore, did my hair and makeup like she did, and bounded ecstatically around my house while I waited for my friends to pick me up.

                As we drove into the city, my entire body was shaking and the Doctor Who theme song was playing on repeat in my mind.  My behavior provided endless entertainment for my friends.  Daniel didn't understand my flustered state, but Alex couldn't stop laughing at me.  Elated exclamations flowed from my mouth without check about how incredibly excited I was to meet Clara!  I was going to get a picture with Clara!  I WAS Clara!  Clara!!

                Alex was joining me in the photo op, while the others went off to explore the Expo.  The moment I entered the building, my nerd heart lit up and the biggest smile broke across my face.  We found our spot in line and I immediately started to shake.  My body was vibrating so violently, I was afraid I was going to shatter across the floor.  Suddenly, I couldn't breathe, and everything halted.

                My vision narrowed and the noises around me grew muffled.  I could feel my body begin to sway backwards.  In a panic, I reached out and clutched at Alex's arm.  

                "Alex.  I need to calm down," I gasped.

                "You're right," he chuckled.

                I made him promise to not let me pass out before we met Jenna Coleman.  He ensured I was steady and handed me his water to sip on.  Through the rest of the line, I attempted to keep my chattering and vibrating and hyperventilating to a minimum.  Honestly, it didn't really work, but I did succeed in staying fully conscious.

                Finally, the time came.  We were shown past the curtain (WE WERE SO CLOSE), made to stand behind a line until our turn (THERE SHE WAS), directed up beside her ("Hi", "Hi"), the picture was taken (I TOUCHED HER ARM), and then we were ushered out.

                That was it.  After weeks of anticipation, hours of suffering, the fear of being unconscious...it was over.  I had met her? I think?  It had happened, right?  Yes, here was the picture to prove it.  There was me, standing right next to my idol, Jenna Coleman.  Her smile looked a little tired.  Well, mine would too, if I had to stand there and smile for hundreds of pictures.  

                I thought actually meeting her, and in such an anti-climactic way, would diminish my view of Jenna, my view of Clara.  But it didn't.  If anything, it affirmed in my mind that she really was just a regular person.  I really was Clara.