When I looked up how old Emily Bett Rickards was turning today, I almost did one of those 90s comedy spit-takes because, as it turns out, she's two years younger than I am as of this moment. I was stunned because the amount of grace and poise and class that Emily exudes -- and the degree of sophistication and effort she puts into her craft -- makes it feel like she's older than she actually is. I love Emily Bett Rickards: as her alter ego on Arrow, Felicity Smoak; as her witty Twitter handle; as a person, in general, etc. I've only had one brief interaction with EBR and that was waving to her from the press pit as she exited the stage at the Arrow Comic-Con panel this year. That's it. That's all it was. But I can tell from the way she presents herself that she's an awesome human being.
There was a segment on my local radio station today where the DJ asked callers who they would choose as a celebrity best friend. I feel like Emily Bett would be the Taylor Swift of her friend group, and I'd be happy to be rolling in the #EBRSquad.
So today, I wanted to take a few minutes to celebrate our favorite precious star and thank her for essentially being who she is and being unafraid of that. When I began watching Arrow, I knew I would like Felicity Smoak. Tumblr told me as much. But I wasn't prepared to absolutely adore the blonde IT guru and that's really thanks to Emily. She's the one who brought this character to life. Lest we ever forget, Felicity wasn't supposed to have a huge role in this show. She certainly wasn't planned to be Oliver's love interest. But Emily breathed so much life into this show and to her character that it would have been absurd for the producers to let her go. And that is exactly what Emily has continued to do throughout this series and beyond -- she is fun, vibrant, bringing levity to the darkest of situations as Felicity and bringing sass and wit wherever she goes.
The fact of the matter is that Felicity is relatively normal apart from her intellect regarding computers and technology. She struggles to do sit-ups. She dyes her hair. She babbles and can't wield a gun. But she's a strong woman (I've talked about this numerous times before) because she believes in her worth as a human being. She fights for hope and for happiness in others. She messes up sometimes. She's victorious other times. She's sensitive and strong; snappy sometimes and sappy the next. Felicity Smoak never needs to wear a mask to be a hero. She already is one. She's a hero simply because she never stops fighting for what she believes in. And Emily Bett Rickards has shone for three years in this role because she understands all of that about Felicity implicitly.
So thank you, first of all, for being born today EBR. But thank you for proving to everyone that you don't have to wear a mask or a costume to be a hero -- that your worth is determined by what you fight for, not how you fight for it. I'm not the only one in the world who appreciates Emily though. I took to the Interwebz and here are some reasons why others love this actress:
