Let people have their thing

If you know me even slightly then you know I love Star Wars.  Not just a fan...I'm full on crazy for it.  Star Wars is my thing.  I have a lot of things that make me happy but Star Wars is special for me.  I've been laughed at and made fun of for it, and admittedly I've done this to other people who are into something I don't understand, as we all have our thing that does it for us.  

Rarely do we know the backstory to why people get obsessed with something.  Most of us don't share why at 50 years old we want a light saber tattoo or still look to the sky at night in hopes of seeing the Millennium Falcon zoom by.  The reasons may surprise you and you might even find a different understanding towards others odd things they are into.

Star Wars was the 2nd movie I'd seen in a theater (the first being Apple Dumpling Gang) and it blew my mind.  We were living in Leesville, Louisiana, which was a hick  town outside a military base.  We didn't even get hit movies until a good year after they'd been out.  Star Wars was like nothing I'd ever seen and I was mesmerized.  I spent many nights looking out my 2nd story bedroom window at the night sky dreaming of Han Solo taking me out of Leesville.  

My father was a raging misogynist so I wasn't allowed any Star Wars toys because "they are for boys".  My brother had Star Wars sheets, action figures and even a garbage can.  I was only allowed a school folder with Princess Leia on it.  I cherished it and wouldn't use it for school and instead kept it pristine as it was all I had.  A few years ago while at an opening night for the latest movie they gave out trading cards. I put them on my kitchen counter and few days later a friend came over, laughed, and asked what I was going to do with those.  I said, "They are mine! I'm the fan!  I get them!".  I found I was even a little teary eyed about this.  

I walked down the aisle at my wedding to the theme to Star Wars.  I mist up when it comes on and the word crawl on the screen begins.  This song, these movies, allow me a mental escape I rarely get.  I see myself in the characters. Their fate feels important to me as if it's happening to me.  If you're around me it can seem bizarre, as it's pretty opposite of the rest of my life, but it's my thing.  

So when you see that person doing Harry Potter cosplay, painting their home the colors of their favorite sports team, collecting tea cups...know that this may be the one thing that gets them through a day.  It may look odd to you, their exuberance may annoy you, but allow them this.  We are all flying on a rock through space to our deaths. You can shut up your opinions for a second and give another their moment.