Random Post 1

A wise Miley Cyrus once said that Los Angeles, California is the “land of fame excess.” Although a whole childhood of listening to “Party in the U.S.A.” should have prepared me for this, I would not truly come to understand just how common it is to see celebrities in the City of Angels until I moved here for college. In just a couple years of being here, I’ve had friends:

• Run into singer Olivia Rodrigo in a restaurant bathroom

• Meet actress Madelyn Cline at a movie premiere

• Take a selfie with TikToker Addison Rae at Melrose

• See the boxing legend Mike Tyson in the USC Village

Crazy, right? As for myself, here are some of my own celebrity sightings.

My first encounter with someone famous also took place in the Village. One rainy afternoon in the Fall of 2021, I was curled up in my bed in my Village apartment when I received a text message from one of my roommates. Her message to me said that I had to come outside of our building, as she believed singer Conan Gray was seated at a table outside the gym. I reluctantly crawled out of bed in disbelief that her vision was correct. When I met her near said table, I was shocked to see that it was actually him. A couple other students had seen him as well and were talking with him, so we joined the conversation and said hello. Conan was so sweet and down-to-Earth that the interaction was just like talking with a friend!

My next sighting was a couple months later, when some friends and I were walking around Westwood on a Saturday night. That night was coincidentally the premiere of Licorice Pizza at the Regency Theater. We could see from a distance the red carpet laid out with a swarm of people. As we crossed the street towards it, paparazzi were taking pictures of a female walking towards us. My friends and I thought she looked familiar, but couldn’t quite piece together who it was. So, we asked the paparazzi. They informed us that the woman we had just crossed paths with was Kesha. A few days later, my friend’s mom found the paparazzi pictures online, and we realized I had photobombed her!

The last story I will share isn’t quite a random encounter, but is another instance where I photobombed someone famous. Last spring, my roommate’s sorority had given its members the opportunity to attend American Idol. They were allowed to bring guests, and the tickets were free, so of course I had to go with her. When we arrived, my roommate, her friend, and I waited in a long line outside the studio before quickly being pulled aside from the rest of the line. The producers invited the three of us to sit in the front row right behind the judges. Our luck placed us with a great view, got us on television for most of the show, and gave us the opportunity to wave to judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie during the commercial breaks. The next day, I saw myself in the back of one of their Instagram posts! (You might have to squint… I am to the right of Katy and wearing a hot pink dress.)