And so it begins...

It was in 1995 that my dad brought home the original Star Wars trilogy VHS box set...and my life was changed forever. From that point forward, Star Wars would be a huge part of my life. I was absolutely entranced by the story, the characters, the action, and the effects. I knew everything about everything: What the abbreviation AT-AT stood for, how old Yoda was when he died, and the names of characters so obscure they weren't even credited in the film.

Through the movies I made many close friends (including my best), traveled across the country, and have gotten to take part in some pretty cool events. That love for Star Wars has continued to this day, but it also kindled something inside me: a yearning for stories that were both grand in scale and yet felt personal, that stretched the limits of my imagination but also hit close to home. Star Wars did something more than give me a few movies (and novels, and comics, and toys) to enjoy...

Star Wars made me a fan.

Behold, my childhood.

Fandom, in its truest sense, is about exploring yourself through stories. Books like Harry Potter, films like Star Wars, shows like Doctor Who, and games like The Legend of Zelda are just some of the myriad of ways in which people can both lose themselves in a story and discover themselves in the process. Fandom is an unabashed, unwavering, unyielding passion for those things that make us connect to the deepest parts of our humanity. 

Being a fan is about love.

And so I've created this blog to share my love for the things I like with all of you. As time goes on I'll be adding my thoughts, recaps, rumor checks, links, reviews, retrospectives, and interviews (you lucky people you). I hope that, together, we can continue to develop that sense of wonder I felt all those year ago...in that galaxy far far away that just happened to be right in my heart.

And so it begins...

-Joe