I'll never forget the first time I saw
Amber Benson. I had just settled down for my regular Tuesday night ritual of watching
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. That night's
episode was Hush. I saw Amber and was immediately drawn to her. She was portraying one of the members of the college wicca
group. It was obvious that she was shy and very uncomfortable speaking in front of groups, something I really identified with.
Over the next few months,
Tara, Amber's character, became an important part of the show. I loved
seeing Tara & Willow together. I'm a romantic and they were romantic. Slowly, on the internet, I was beginning to see
Amber Benson sites, so I was learning more about this wonderful actress. By the end of Buffy's 4th season, I was writing again;
and this time I was finishing what I had started.
Amber had rekindled my desire to make movies. My first
Willow/Tara fic was called
Lonely Night. This was another step in my journey to film school.
During the Summer
of 2000, I converted three of my very good friends into Buffy fans. I was also spreading the goodness of Amber. During down
time of mine & Paul's vacation, I continued surfing the net looking for all things Amber. Little Willow had this awesome
site,
The Essence of Amber, and it became a daily stop (usually my first!) when I was online. The more I learned about this fabulous woman, the more
I admired her.
When I was talking to one of my friend's mom, one morning during our vacation I mentioned that I knew
what I wanted to do with my life. "
I want to make movies." I said. I believe that was the first time I actually verbalized
my dream to someone other than Paul or a few close friends. By the time, Paul & I returned home, I had started seriously
looking into film schools.
By September 2000, I had applied and was accepted to
Full Sail in Florida. Slowly, my dream was becoming a reality. All this time, I was still learning more and more about Amber. I had
read a Q & A on the Essence site, saw her performing at the 25th Anniversary Special of the Rocky Horror Picture Show,
seen several of her movies (including
King of the Hill, which I love!) and learned about
Jeff Buckley. I
had read about people meeting Amber at the Posting Board Party and the San Diego ComiCon. She was an incredibly down to earth
person who cares about her fans. Someday, I hoped to meet her.
In March of 2001, for my birthday, Paul & I drove
down to Orlando from North Carolina so I could meet Amber. She was one of the scheduled guests at MegaCon. Amber was the sole
reason for our trip. On Saturday, the first day she was signing, I was very nervous. I was tongue tied and Paul did most of
the talking. After the 2nd signing on Saturday, Paul & I went back to our hotel. I stayed up late writing Amber a letter.
I knew I would never be able to verbalize everything I wanted to say to her.
It was time for the first signing on
Sunday and as I got up to Amber, I asked her to sign some "buttons" Paul had made. She liked them, I think. After she signed
them, I handed her my letter. I told her "I knew I would get all tongue-tied, so I wrote it down." She stood up and hugged
me! I couldn't believe it. I was elated.
Well, me being the Amberholic I am, I stuck around for the 2nd signing. This
time, before I could say anything, Amber looked up at me and said, "I read your letter." I swear, you could've knocked me
over with a feather. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought she would have had time to read my letter. She went on
to say that it was "
fucking awesome" that I was going back to school at 31. Amber Benson thought
what I (me! Teresa Villa!) was doing wasn't just awesome......it was "
fucking awesome! " We
chatted for a couple of minutes, then she hugged me again before signing my picture, "good luck w/school!"
That picture,
along with the picture I recieved from her movie Chance hang above my computer in my apartment while I'm attending school.
If I feel down or overwhelmed, I look up, see Amber and remember that she said it was "
fucking awesome" that I'm
going to school. With that, I know I can make it through school. I can make it in the film industry. And someday, if all goes
well....I can work with Amber Benson, my inspiration.
