Anderson Cooper Made Me Do a 180

He obliged, yet with a quizzical expression, as if to say, "Who, me?"

On March 18, I was on my excited little way to see a personal yet public hero—Barack Obama! As I was making my way to my seat to hear him speak, I noticed a group of little kids holding soccer balls (for some strange reason), all huddled around a silver-haired man. "Who is it?" I wondered aloud.

As I made my way over for further investigation, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was none other than Anderson Cooper. He looked almost as surprised as I did that anyone was asking for his autograph, let alone a throng of kids, none of them older than ten years old.

I completely abandoned my 26 years of maturity and wiggled my next to him. "Mr. Cooper! Mr. Cooper!" I screeched. "It's so nice to meet you. May I take a picture with you?" He obliged, yet with a quizzical expression, as if to say, "Who, me?"

Afterward, as I was recounting my luck, I realized the impression the chance encounter had made on me. He's a real person, and a really nice, humble person at that. I'm forever a fan!