The booming orchestral sounds of John Williams’s score holds a vivid spot in the realm of my childhood memory bank. There are some experiences that you simply can’t forget and, for me, hearing that opening fanfare for the first time is one of them. While I could say that this memory began years ago when I was around nine-years-old, I guess you could say that it all truly began a long time ago… in a galaxy… far, far away. (You see where I’m going with this, right?) During this pivotal weekend, my dad decided that we were going to finally watch Star Wars together. It was just the two of us and we had six lengthy space operas to get through, so a lot of caffeine and popcorn was utilized in the process. It’s genuinely funny to think about how naive I was back then. At the time, I was just a kid watching some space movies with her dad. I couldn’t have possibly fathomed how much I would be able to watch this series grow, nor did I realize how much this series would cause me to grow, too.
This franchise gave me strong womxn role models to look up to throughout my childhood, in my time as a teenager, and even now as a young adult. I admired Princess Leia and I wanted to be her when I grew up. I wanted to be a commanding force who took charge and felt no shame in doing so. I wanted to be a princess and a warrior. I wanted to wrap myself in my femininity and use it as a suit of armor because Leia showed me that femininity is not an adversity to be hidden — it’s a resilient fortitude that should be embraced. I idolized her relentlessly because it felt as if she reflected who I was whilst also showing me everything that I could be. This admiration quickly expanded and grew as I found myself seeking refuge in the many powerful womxn characters that flourish within the Star Wars universe. Leia, Rey, Rose, Padmé, Jyn, Ahsoka. They each depict the personality traits that I want to recognize in myself and they convey characteristics of bravery, compassion, strength, and endurance that I yearn for in the moments where I feel like there’s an entire galaxy resting on my shoulders. They’re fictional characters with fictional stories, but the vigorous power that they helped me find and recognize within myself is entirely real.
To say that this franchise has changed my life is an understatement. As I pave my path into adulthood, having Star Wars as this constant comfort is something that I’m truly grateful for. There will always be days when I’m overwhelmed and stressed and tired and I just want to scream into oblivion, but I know I’ll always have my favorite characters with their cheesy dialogue and dramatic lightsaber-wielding duels to turn to if I’m in desperate need of a temporary escape into another world.
