Teen Girl With a Satchel by Georgie Carroll

Georgie and DOLLY columnist Maude Garrett

Even though I am one of the biggest fangirls in the world, I had never actually met any of my favourite celebrities until last Saturday. I went along to Supanova Pop-Culture Convention with my best friends ready to meet my future husband, Tom Felton (aka Harry Potter's Draco Malfoy). 

As I stood in line, I looked around and realised there were thousands of other girls there for the exact same reason as I was, and this was just one of the four days you could meet him. It was a crushing moment as the reality hit that he probably wouldn’t actually marry me, though when we met and he called me "sweetheart" and "lovely" and hugged me and stared into my eyes, I decided that was the equivalent of a proposal.

Josh Thomas + Tom Felton = fangirl flush.

Meeting Tom was a life highlight, but as I was in Melbourne, my best friend and I decided to continue our fabulous day and head to the Melbourne Comedy Festival to see Josh Thomas. I have been in love with Josh for around two years (tears may or may not have been shed when I listened to his podcast revealing he had a boyfriend) and I saw his show ‘Things I Have Said Before’ in 2009. That show was brilliant, but was tiny in comparison to his performance this year, ‘Everything Ever’.

Complete with giant hedges on stage spelling out his name, Josh had a packed Playhouse Theatre in hysterics from the moment he came on stage. I was glad I was just with my BFF, as most of Josh’s anecdotes were NSFM (Not Safe For Mothers). He dropped the C-bomb a few times too many for my liking, and a few of his more sexual stories could potentially be uncomfortable to some. Crude jokes aside, Josh was hilarious, and at the end he did a signing, which was brilliant.

Meeting Tom Felton AND Josh Thomas in one day? Be still my fangirl heart.

My week continued with more idol sightings as I headed to Dolly for a week of work experience. I love doing work experience, as I look up to all the staff at the mags so much, so to actually be in the same room as them, talking to them is a dream come true.

I was almost sick with nerves walking into Cleo to talk to the lovely editor Gemma Crisp, though I shouldn’t have worried, as she was even nicer than I imagined. We spent around an hour discussing everything and anything, which I thought was wonderful as I wasn’t even one of her workies.

My celebrity encounters were not over yet, as on Thursday I was lucky enough to attend Russell Brand’s press junket for his new film Arthur, with lovely DOLLY features editor Millie. As it was my first ever press conference, and time at the Ivy, I was more than excited. When I got there and found out Wil Anderson, another one of my favourite comedians, was MC, I couldn’t believe my luck. It was such a brilliant experience, and gave me a new aspiration in life – to become an entertainment editor.

As my time at Park St drew to a close, I was able to go with the Dolly team to the Dolly Respect Day. It was such an amazing event. With Australian celebrities such as Stan Walker, Justice Crew, Miracle, Charlotte Dawson, Lee Furlong, Tahnee Atkinson and Maude Garrett, there wasn’t a dull moment. I was lucky enough to meet all the celebrities there on the day, which was very exciting. The highlight for me was meeting Maude, who has been a total girl crush of mine for years. She did such a fabulous job of MC-ing, and keeping a crowd who would hysterically scream when they caught a glimpse of Justice Crew, on track to listen to all the other guests. The whole day was brilliant, and the Dolly team worked hard to make sure it all ran smoothly. They did a fabulous job of raising awareness for respect, while creating a fun environment that teens flocked to.

As I got off the train at Central, and said goodbye to Dolly editor Tiff, I was saddened to remember that my amazing week was over, and I had to go back to a real world filled with school assessment tasks that needed to be completed. I then realised how lucky I was to have such a week, and to be given such amazing opportunities.

Catch up with Georgie's blog, Frangipani Princess.

Georgie @ Girl With a Satchel