Why Star Wars Still Matters: Reason #2

Star Wars continues to reach people and touch their hearts and this is why reason number 2 is….

Reason #2: Inspiration and Hope

Hope, Inspiration and Belief. These simple things make up so much of the world of Star Wars. Not only do they influence the story that we know and love but they are part of the lessons that we take away. The above image is from my engagement shoot with my then fiancé. I chose it because it was important to me to capture the idea of hope and inspiration through Star Wars in pictures that would forever shape my life. Romance, Love and Marriage are all things that require hope, inspiration and belief. I as a Star Wars fan try to find the Star Wars in all things in my life and the place I have seen it the most recently has been in my marriage.

Hope, what is hope? Hope is something that lies inside all of us. It is also something that at times can be very hard to find. Star Wars has helped many find that hope inside of themselves. When we see Luke realizing that there is nothing left for him on Tatooine and he chooses to believe there is more for him out there. When we see Han Solo return to help destroy the Death Star our hope in the greatness of beings is validated. Hope is something that Star Wars instills in us from each opening scene to when the credits roll. We learn to trust things that don’t always seem possible. We learn to trust people that may not seem like the most trustworthy. We learn to push ourselves beyond the limits of our own minds and put faith in something bigger than ourselves, like the force. In my own very real life hope is something that I have to believe in. Whenever I doubt my ability to hope for the best and to believe it will happen I turn to Star Wars. When I first met my now husband there was a lot of hope that went into our relationship. At that time we lived in different states. I had to trust the hope I felt in my heart that everything would fall into place, so what did I do? I gathered inspiration from my favorite film saga. I trusted that hope and today I find myself in a very happy place.

Inspiration, inspiration is something that can fuel creativity. It can fuel passion, drive and purpose. Star Wars inspires its fans through its timeless characters, in depth and detailed stories and passion for very human themes. We get inspired when we see Obi Wan Kenobi face Darth Vader and sacrifice himself for the greater good. We get inspired when Queen Amidala bows to the Gungans to prove her belief in equality of people. We get inspired when we see creatures as small as Ewoks fight for their freedom. There are so many things that Star Wars inspires. It can inspire someone to have a high self esteem, to believe in themselves. It can inspire people to become authors, film makers, actors and teachers. Feeling Star Wars inside of yourself and allowing it to fill you up can build so many powerful human qualities and emotions. Star Wars has inspired me to be an advocate for female fans. It has inspired me to want to be a female toy collector in a world dominated by men. It has inspired me to share my opinions through podcasts and written articles. Even more so than those things it has inspired me to be a better version of myself and to be strong for my family with my inner Padme, Ahsoka and Leia.

Belief is something that ties in both hope and inspiration. You can not have hope without the belief in that hope. You can not truly be inspired without believing in the things that inspire you. Believing is probably the hardest part. Often times so many things are out there that are pushing us down and telling us that we can not reach the places we want to reach. How we get past that is belief. Belief in ourselves, belief in faith, and belief in our most trusted friends and family. The one thing that belief does do is it unites fans of Star Wars. We all believe in something about Star Wars. On the most basic level we believe in its power to guide us through life. Star Wars has given me the belief in power of women, belief in the power of faith in something like the force, and belief in people. Star Wars touches that part of my heart in so many ways. The story, the music, the colors, the dialogue and most importantly the characters.

I can only hope that Star Wars continues to inspire and transform fans for many years to come and I hope that they too find that belief in something so simple as a film, book or soundtrack.

What about Star Wars inspires you? What things in your life have forever been transformed by your belief and hope in Star Wars?

~Teresa Delgado

Author: Teresa Delgado

Teresa is a Star Wars fangirl that explores her fandom through blogging and podcasting. She is host of Star Wars podcasts, Star Wars Bookworms and Fangirl Going Rogue. She is also a staff writer for Jedi News UK and the Star Wars Report. Teresa loves collecting Star Wars toys and reading Star Wars books and comics. She started her Star Wars journey as a padawan to her mom who taught her the ways of the force and molded her into the Star Wars fan she is today. Her Star Wars loves are The Prequels, Return of the Jedi, Ewoks, Ahsoka Tano, X Wings, Darth Maul, R2D2 and the Old Republic.

Teresa also has her own geeky fangirl website, Fangirl Next Door. You can follow her on twitter and instagram: @icecoldpenguin