Eight years ago, I saw Leonardo DiCaprio at an Italian restaurant in NYC. I was with my sister, and he was sitting right across from our table. He used a back door to enter the restaurant, so my sister and I were the only guests who knew the most famous actor in the world was eating pasta in the same space.

When he was leaving the restaurant, I stood up and asked him to take pictures with me. My voice was shaky, but he somehow understood what I wanted. We took about a minute to snap pictures then he left saying goodbye. Soon after he was gone, people flocked to our table asking “Was that Leo?”

Yes, I posted the pictures on Facebook and checked the comments and likes every five minutes. Since then, I must have told this story to dozens of friends. Although I often said “I don’t care about celebrities,” a desire to be associated with them was always inside me.

The longing to be associated with famous people seems like human nature. I always see people posting pictures with celebrities, visiting cafes owned by celebrities, and buying books by celebrities.

Arguably, the number of followers has become the most prevalent measurement of clout. Maybe it’s becoming even harder to be totally indifferent to celebrities.

It was a difficult choice. I decided not to attach my photo with DiCaprio.