I went to the Super Bowl with one of TikTok's biggest stars and realized everything I thought I knew about influencers was wrong

• Angela Kim was shocked to win a competition to watch the Super Bowl with TikTok star Addison Rae.

• She said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that changed her perception of influencers.

• This is Angela's story, as told to Chris Stokel-Walker.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Angela Kim, and it has been edited for length and clarity.

When I entered a competition to win two tickets to watch the Super Bowl with TikTok star Addison Rae, I must admit I didn't know a lot about her.

As an oncology nurse practitioner, I frequently work with cancer patients and was happy to donate to the American Cancer Society, which hosted the competition, when I received an email about it. Plus, my husband really wanted to see the Super Bowl live, so it seemed like a win-win.

I made a donation and I knew that the odds that I would win the prize were small, but I thought it would be worth it anyway for a good cause. Despite living in California, where the Super Bowl took place this year, I knew it would be extremely difficult to go to see it live as a "normal person" because the tickets are so expensive and sell out fast, so we thought we'd give it a try.

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Just five days before the big day, I got an email saying that I won. I couldn't believe it. At first I thought it might be a phishing email or some kind of scam. I kept thinking, "Is this real?"

It was only when I had the tickets in my hands that I really believed it.

In all honesty, it was going to the Super Bowl that I was excited about. Doing so with Addison Rae was just a bonus, albeit one I was a little apprehensive about — but it turned out to be an experience I'll never forget.

Seeing the Super Bowl live with a TikToker was an incredible experience

We'd never been to a pro football game before. For me, it was just being there that was incredible, especially because we're Rams fans, so rooting for them in person was such an amazing experience. Words can't describe it. We felt like we were part of a historical event.

When we arrived, NFL staff escorted us to the field and the tailgate party, and we even got to watch some of the musical performances. We felt so grateful and privileged that all this was for a great cause.

For my husband Howard, I think the most amazing part was getting into the field and watching the players warm up, and he was a little starstruck by some of the announcers he saw, too.

We didn't know much about Addison Rae beforehand, but we quickly became fans

I don't use TikTok much and while I'd heard Addison Rae's name, I didn't know a lot about her — I don't follow a lot of social media, TV, or Netflix.

It was only when I started reading about her that I realized how famous she was — the fourth biggest TikToker, with over 86 million followers and a $2 million Netflix deal.

My husband and I began looking through her social media feeds — we even listened to her first single — and we began to become fans.

Still, going into the big day, we were excited but apprehensive about our interactions with Addison. I had a preconception that influencers would be detached, and not really want to talk to us. But it was not like that at all.

Addison seemed to genuinely want to spend more time with us, and talk and listen to us. She seemed so sweet. We got to know a bit more about her, and she got to know about us too.

The fact that we have ordinary jobs working in healthcare, but were privileged enough to meet former NFL players, Addison Rae, and support a charity we believe in feels incredible.

All our family and friends lived vicariously through us during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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