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A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away 

The moment right before a new adventure begins…

Star Wars

Creator: George Lucas

The crowd buzzes with anticipation, excitement, and a little healthy dose of nervousness. Speculative whispers can be heard up and down the aisles. Cosplayers, wearing costumes of characters they’ve yet to meet but already love, roam around the theater. Kids asks their parents questions about the story so far. Older fans make one more, all-important run to the bathroom, forcing nature as to not miss a second. The lights go low and the tension rises one more level. Trailers and ignored public service announcements about cell phones and talking stretch out the wait. Then, finally, the Lucasfilm logo shimmers onto the screen and the magic words appear…

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

There is always a cheer, applause, hoots, and hollers, but my favorite sound is the small beat of complete silence when those words fade away and cede the spotlight to the opening strains of John Williams’ booming main theme. The music takes over everything, the first sounds of the movie taking us to the beginning of a new chapter in the Star Wars saga.

It is in that silence, that small beat, that the entire world of possibilities in Star Wars explodes out of your mind. With each new story—whether it be a movie or television episode, a novel or comic book—the Star Wars saga gets bigger and, with it, comes the hope of something new inspiring you all over again. The new characters, ships, and sequences are still in front of you. Everything you know and love about Star Wars is racing through your mind as you wonder what you are about to add to that list. We live for that moment.

Each new piece of the saga is also fully engrained in the world that has been built before it. Everything new ties back to what came before. It stretches out the boundaries and takes us to new places, but it always has a comforting tinge of familiarity. It feels like Star Wars.

As the next movie starts, the new TV show begins, the first pages of a book turn and another comic book or video game rolls outs in front of you, that last breath of anticipation leaves and you find yourself immediately immersed in the new Star Wars adventure. It’s at this moment you fully realize that Star Wars is not something you enjoy, it’s an entire world that you love. It’s a love that inspires, comforts, and challenges you. It’s a love that’s not always easy and sometimes requires growth or pulls it from you. It’s a love, though, that always rewards you and that love of Star Wars is built upon the foundation of many great moments—these are mine that I have shared with you. Yours are even more important—but there is nothing greater than the Star Wars moments you have yet to experience. They’re out there. Waiting for you in a galaxy far, far away…