In Which She Meets an Idol

Once upon a summer's day in 2012, I met one of my idols.

Robert. Seely.

I know most of you are probably going, "Who?" right at this very moment. Robert Seely was the bass singer for BYU's all-male a capella group Vocal Point. I was majorly obsessed with Vocal Point at this point in my life. (I still like them, but not memorize-all-of-their-first-and-last-names like them like before.)

I was at a week-long church camp at BYU. I was in the Creamery on Ninth (sometimes affectionately called the CONE) with some friends. We were just hanging out. Sarah got some Purple Stuff. Mike got some fries. We all got a picture. Just a good time all around.

And then I saw him. I wasn't sure it was him at first, but a few additional glances confirmed my suspicions. It was totally him. Robert Seely, in the flesh. He was working at the Creamy. He had that magic blue apron on with a shining, glorious name tag pinned to the front.

I started freaking out to my friends, and they told me to go say hi to him. How dare they?! How was I, a mere mortal teenager, supposed to say hello to him, a demi-god of singing? I couldn't do it. I just plain couldn't work up the nerve.

But then, when Sarah was checking out in line, he walked by me. Some tiny shred of courage had found its way to my vocal chords, and I said, "Are you Robert Seely from Vocal Point?" Stupid question. Of course he was, and even if I hadn't been sure, his name tag spelled it out in bright black letters. Plain as day.

"Yeah, I am." He smiled. And thus commenced our awkward conversation. I was freaking out internally waaayyyy too much to be able to think of anything to say, so he pretty much asked all the questions and I did all the answering. Did I like EFY? Where was I from? Illinois? Oh, they'd been to Nauvoo recently!

Those two minutes were pure bliss. I returned to my friends and fangirled so hard. They told me my face had gotten bright red. I'm hardly surprised. It tends to do that when I'm overexcited.

I didn't even have the sense to ask him for an autograph or picture. But I suppose I got away with something better--I got away with a two-minute, only slightly uncomfortable conversation with a normal guy blessed with the voice of the heavens.