Tweeting with Nicola Bryant

When I learned that Nicola Bryant would be attending Chicago TARDIS 2017, I knew that I had to go. I had been following her on Twitter (@thenicolabryant) for a year or so and always loved that she interacted well with her fans. I wasn't overly familiar with her time on "Doctor Who," but I did know that her character, Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown was American, a first for the show
I initially Tweeted her to make sure that Nicola was, in fact, attending the convention (I'd been misled once before with a false Billie Piper booking,) and was pleased to get a response. "Yes. I'll be there! See you soon." She ended the Tweet with the love emoji.
We Tweeted again in mid-October. Nicola's birthday is October 11th, and mine is the 12th. I wished her a happy birthday and told her that my birthday was the day after. I was excited to wake up on my birthday (always a depressing day for me) to find that she had Tweeted me again! "Thank you. And happy birthday to you too. It's also my cousin's birthday." Again, she ended with the love emoji.
At this point, in my head, I had decided that Nicola and I had become friends (not in a creepy way!)
In early November, I received some unfortunate news. My cousin Lauryn would be unable to attend the convention with me. Seeing as she had agreed to drive, and I couldn't afford the hotel room by myself, things looked desolate.
A friend of mine agreed to go, but ended up cancelling 4 days before we were set to leave. A coworker offered to go, but couldn't find a babysitter. That left two options: the bus or the train.
I am a very nervous person and I have terrible social anxiety, but knowing that I was about to walk away from $500 (no refunds) and a chance to meet Nicola, I weighed my options.
I decided to Tweet Nicola just to prepare for the worst. I explained the situation to her, but told her that my fingers were crossed for a miracle. I was surprised to get a response within the hour (they're 5 hours ahead in England, and it was 11 or midnight my time when I initially Tweeted her.) "My fingers are crossed too." This time she sent the crossed fingers and love emoji.
Encouraged by her apparent interest I replied to the Tweet and explained that I was looking into the bus and train, but that I was nervous as I get lost easily. I was absolutely terrified at the prospect of getting off the bus or train -- alone -- in Chicago at night.
Nicola Tweeted me again! "Me too! I'm sure you'll make it." At this point I assumed that the love emoji was her signature.
Spurred on by her kindness, I contacted a friend in Chicago and asked him about it. He told me that there's a subway 2 blocks from the bus depot. That would take me to a bus that would then take me to the hotel. Problem solved!
I replied to her Tweet again and told her that I really wanted to meet her and that I'd do whatever it took to get there, even if it meant stepping out of my comfort zone. I thanked her for her positive thoughts.
I got another Tweet back! "You take care. Leaving our comfort zones is something we all need to work on and usually results in a positive feeling of empowerment. You go!' Love emoji.
It was then that I decided to do whatever it took to get me to that convention. I thought it was so great that Nicola was encouraging me to come. After all, she would get her money for my stuff whether or not I made it. So, that really endeared her to me.