The 14 Emotional Stages of Making Your Fangirl Dreams a Reality

Break out the Champagne, fam, I finally got to meet one of my dream celebrities. Sure, I've met plenty of celebrities through the years, but this time, I finally met one-fourth of One Direction. Thanks to iHeartRadio and Dunkin Donuts (believe it or not), my fangirl dreams became a reality.

I don't know if you've heard, but I love One Direction through thick and thin, through questionable music videos and poorly chosen singles, and through breakups and babies. I love them. I do. But until last month, I had never gotten to meet any of the boys — I only ever traveled thousands of miles to see them. No big deal. But last month I got to meet Niall Horan while he was making the rounds doing promo for his debut solo single, "This Town."

This precious Irish sunshine came to New York and did a radio show at the Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee Lounge, and not only was I in the room, but I got to meet him (and hug him!) afterward. It was a good thing I didn't know beforehand that I was going to get to meet him or I would have been a mess. Instead, in the span of about 10 minutes, my brain cycled through several emotions while trying to process the interaction. Ahead, I've broken down each emotional stage on this journey of meeting one of the objects of my fangirl obsession and illustrated it all with One Direction GIFs. (My love for them will never die, y'all. Never.)

Scroll through to go on this journey with me as I meet my favorite Irish punkin, but I'm going to tell you this now: don't expect to hear from me when I eventually meet Harry Styles. I'm certainly not playing favorites, but I just don't know that I'll be able to (metaphorically) survive that one. Wish me well, folks.

01
The initial shock that it's happening.
CBS

The initial shock that it's happening.

When someone told us to prepare ourselves for the photos, my brain had a sudden burst of panic. I'm sorry, what was that? I get to what?

02
Then the excitement when it settles in.
Giphy

Then the excitement when it settles in.

It's like, OK, this is really going to happen. OK.

03
The battle within when you're deciding what to say.
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The battle within when you're deciding what to say.

I knew I had about five minutes to come up with something to fill the moments I had with Niall. Think, brain. Think.

04
The slight panic while you wait.
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The slight panic while you wait.

The waiting game was rough. I kept watching all these other fans have meltdowns in front of me. I'm not about that life, so I had to keep my panic at bay.

05
The slowing down of time as you walk over.
Getty

The slowing down of time as you walk over.

When I was motioned over to Niall, I couldn't even look up. I had these brand-new beautiful Saint Laurent boots on with more of a heel than I'm used to, so all I could look at was my feet, because who wants to trip and face-plant in front of someone they adore? Hi, not me.

06
The sheer bliss of hugging the object of your fangirl obsession.
ITV

The sheer bliss of hugging the object of your fangirl obsession.

Because I'm a lovely human, I asked Niall if I could hug him rather than just charging at him. And because he's the sunshine of the Earth, he said OK.

07
The quick thinking when you inevitably can’t think of what to say.
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The quick thinking when you inevitably can’t think of what to say.

Brain failed me, of course, so I had about five seconds to come up with something brilliantly witty to say to Niall. I thanked him for coming to New York. I have started better conversations with my cats. Thanks, brain.

08
The pride in yourself at sounding like a mature adult.
Radio 1

The pride in yourself at sounding like a mature adult.

The good news is, I kept it together and spoke clearly and happily. Yay me.

09
The calm that comes over you in the moment.
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The calm that comes over you in the moment.

The brief time I had with Niall was so great. It was honestly like talking to any other person, of course, so I shouldn't be surprised that it was easy.

10
The relief you feel when you don't make a fool of yourself.
MTV

The relief you feel when you don't make a fool of yourself.

I managed to walk away without tripping over my feet, without crying, and without saying anything dumb. I felt like it was a win.

11
The holy sh*t moment when it's over.
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The holy sh*t moment when it's over.

When I exited the building and saw all the fans outside who weren't as lucky as I was that day, I had my "holy sh*t" moment. Holy. F*cking. Sh*t. That happened.

12
The hysteria that sets in later when you share your story.
ITV

The hysteria that sets in later when you share your story.

I calmly returned to work and my regular life and casually dropped a mention into a conversation later that afternoon and everyone asked how I was so calm. I think it was them asking me about it that made me go a bit crazy. The floodgates opened and all the excitement and hysteria set in.

13
The joy you feel, knowing a dream came true.
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The joy you feel, knowing a dream came true.

I'm glad the first time I got to meet one of the 1D boys was a chill interaction and went so well. It gives me a great piece to my 1D memory puzzle and sets up a good foundation to meet the rest of the boys. Because yes, I will meet them all, separately, while they work on their separate projects.

14
The plotting to make it happen again and again and again.
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The plotting to make it happen again and again and again.

Now to meet Liam and Louis and Harry . . . and maybe Niall again.