I don’t remember exactly when it was that I fell in love with Star Wars. I just remember that I had to stay home from school sick one day. One of those actual sick days, where you can’t enjoy yourself as a child, because your misery outweighs the joy of skipping school. I think it was some time in elementary school.
My favorite channel back then was the USA television network. It just so happened that the Star Wars trilogy was playing on marathon mode that day. So tiny child me fell immediately in love with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. My girl crush on Mark Hamill was only second to my love for Robin Williams. It wouldn’t be until much later in life that I’d learn the disappointment that both men were old enough to be my father…
That literally sealed the deal for me. I was never a very conventional girl. I loved the black and white Nick at Nite shows. I loved live-action Batman. I dreamt about being MacGyver. And then I ended up wanting to be a Jedi like Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I still remember finding a Star Wars novel at the flea market one Saturday. The house I grew up in was built in 1919 and my parents restored it to its former glory, sanding the floors and putting up period-appropriate wallpapers. They’d find furniture at antique dealerships and oftentimes, flea market booths.
There was one vendor at the flea market that had all kinds of books. He just kept stacks and stacks of books that he sold for $.25 or $.50 cents apiece. I can’t even remember which Star Wars novel was my first. It was never enough. It got to the point where the vendor would just hold Star Wars books aside for my mom and me to purchase each week. Some of them I ended up having to buy new. This was way before the Prequel Trilogy was ever even in the making.
“There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.”
Jedi Code
I ended up eventually falling in love with Leia and Han’s romance. I’m still bitter that the more recent round of movies scrubbed the entire Star Wars novel series canon down the drain. I mourn for Jaina and Jacen Solo, the twins of Han and Leia. And then their younger sibling, Anakin. The one thing that I am very happy and impressed with from the more recent Star Wars movies is the scene where Leia saves herself from space. They actually had a scene very similar to that in one of the novels. Luke had to move from one ship to another without any kind of suit on and used the Force to get himself safely through the ordeal.
Okay, I could rant and rave about how amazing Star Wars is all day so I’ll cut it short.
Enjoy your Star Wars day! I know that I will be firing up the movies and pulling out my LEGOs at some point during the day. I’m a nerd and a child at heart!
Atelier Whootique 