Meeting Kelly Cutrone

 Welcome the next addition to my blog: Guest Bloggers! Since JERRLIFE's slogan is 'What are you obsessed with?' it's only appropriate I hear from you, the viewers, what your response is to the question. For the first entry, I introduce to you Morgan Cadenhead, a PR student who got to meet her idol the revolutionary ballbusting CEO of People's Revolution  Kelly Cutrone one on one while promoting her new second book, Normal Gets You Nowhere (I will post a review when I finish the book).  This is her story:

 She was asking to meet me?! Because I waited 7 hours to meet her? I just kept uttering “This is so surreal!”

I woke up at about 8:45am in my house in Oshawa to get up, get ready and get on the 10:38am GO Train so I could get to Indigo Chapters at Eaton Centre for about noon. I didn’t expect to be the first one there – I just wanted to get a good spot in line! I arrived in the bookstore, copies of If You Have to Cry, Go Outside and Normal Gets You Nowhere in hand (with receipts), ready to line up and camp out for seven hours. I walked in and saw no sign of any such line-up, but rather a few employees giving me strange looks. When I asked for info on the signing, the very kind Indigo employee laughed a little and suggested I leave and check in every once in a while for people starting to gather. I took her advice, walked out and started browsing the mall, looking at things I didn’t have the money to buy.

As I walked out of the store, I tweeted @peoplesrev (Kelly’s Twitter account) to make it known I felt a little crazy and the employees were laughing at me: “@peoplesrev first one here for your book signing...employees laughed at me. So excited! Thank goodness I can kill time browsing...”

 

At about 3pm (by now I was officially lined up) I checked my Twitter, only to find Kelly herself tweeting me back! I turned to my friend and said “Oh my gosh, Kelly Cutrone just tweeted me!!”

“I will meet you in the green room @indigogreenroom RT @morgancadenhead: @peoplesrev first one here for your book ... http://tmi.me/aBisJ”

When I saw this, I thought, “Wow, she’s acknowledging me! I can’t wait to meet her too!” and was under the impression she simply meant “See you tonight when I sign your book.” I had NO idea she really meant I WILL MEET YOU IN PRIVATE BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE!

In a sea of spectators, can you find Kelly Cutrone?

As we all got seated for the event, they started getting everyone to tweet Indigo’s account. I wasn’t too surprised when they asked for my name over the mic because they had tweeted me back twice – I figured I was getting a gift card. They called me up, which I found somewhat strange, but didn’t think much of it. Then, the adorable girl who was sort of “running the show” started saying, “So, we hear you’ve been here since noon and we have some exciting news – Kelly herself has requested to meet you backstage in the green room and sign your book and take some pictures!!”

I really wish I could have seen my face at that moment. I don’t even think shock would cover how I felt – this was so much more than just meeting a celebrity author. This was a woman whose advice had helped carry me through one of the toughest times in my life and gave me the power and confidence to just do me this year – and she was asking to meet me?! Because I waited 7 hours to meet her? I just kept uttering “This is so surreal!”

 

So, they took us backstage (my friend came with me) and we waited in anticipation. My mind was racing – what would I say? Next thing I knew, I could hear her voice coming from behind me. I nervously turned around and she said “Are these the kids? Great!” and she waved us over and smiled. All I could utter was “Oh my god, you’re real!!” then think, “Oh my god did I just say that?!” She threw her arms around me and was smiling and laughing and her energy just brought me right back down to earth, and I felt so calm. She started joking about the random piano (“Do you know piano? We can like, play chopsticks!”) and invited us to come and sit while she signed a huge stack of books for Indigo.

She just made small talk from then on – talked about her day, told us in depth about her overwhelming spiritual experience last year in Toronto (explained in Normal Gets You Nowhere) and then signed our books. In them, she wrote her mantra that she says to herself whenever she feels she needs to. She explained it was meant to protect you and keep you grounded, and we recited it together and she helped me make sure I got it down right. Then, she gave me an extra signed copy of Normal Gets You Nowhere to give away/donate/auction off, and we took some pictures and hugged some more.

Then, we left as she was now running a little bit late, and eventually she came out and spoke to everyone. If you were there, you know her words were beyond moving – it was so refreshing to see someone from her generation speaking with such a forward-thinking voice. This woman wasn’t just a PR or fashion pro – she was a fearless leader of our generation, and she grabbed everyone in the audience and told them what was up. It was time for change, and there was no better time to start then right now.

My time with her was brief, and I didn’t get to tell her how she had influenced my life, or how she had become someone I strive to emulate in my personal and career life, or how her books have become my bibles. What I did get to do, though, was spend time with a woman who’s energy and personality was so beautiful and positive, and with a woman who’s strength and confidence never let her become corrupted with the ideas and perception’s people have of the PR and/or Fashion industries – it was time with a unique person who through her entire life had stayed true to herself, something I think people lose sight of all too easily in our various industries. 

What I got out of yesterday, I think, was what anyone else got out of that book signing. Two hours with the presence of a remarkable woman, listening to her incredibly wise and powerful words, and leaving not just feeling, but KNOWING we can change the fate of humanity today, one human being at a time.

Kelly Cutrone – thank you for being the strong leader you are, and thank you for such an incredible day. It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined!   
 
Anyone who's interested in being part of this series Guest Blogging please contact me at jerrrlife@gmail.com (thats 3 G's not 2!) to get in touch with me.