"You're in the clear, kid!"

On one momentous evening in December, I sat in the theater waiting for the newest Star Wars movie to begin. I was filled with anticipation that had been building for almost three years. While we were staring at a blank screen hours before the movie would even start, my brother Danny remarked that he felt incredibly nervous, despite the fact that our role in this event was as observers only. Such a feeling made sense, however: because this was the newest chapter in one of our favorite stories, we all felt personally responsible for its quality. Stating that after the fact seems a bit silly, but in the moment it was all very real.

Admittedly, I was a skeptic about the movie the new direction of Star Wars as a whole. Big changes were occurring, and Star Wars ceased to be a classic saga and was once again thrust into the limelight. In the years preceding The Force Awakens, the Star Wars canon had been unceremoniously shelved in favor of a proclaimed clean slate (something I'll be writing further about in the future). In my eyes, the brief track record with Disney at the helm indicated that a story near and dear to me was heading due south at top speed. Even though I had purchased my ticket on the hype train long before the movie was released, trailers and teasers excited me but failed to instill faith.

Cynical me was in for a real surprise. I was glued to my seat, surrounded by other enthusiastic fans, watching everything play out on the screen with the same wonder I felt during other Star Wars movies. Even so, that first encounter with the new Star Wars couldn't crack my hardened shell of doubt. Fueled by frustrations with other moviegoers (who would cheer and whisper throughout the movie), I jumped the gun and, while recognizing that I did in fact enjoy the movie, immediately picked apart what I didn't like. But I was assured that The Force Awakens got better upon repeat viewings, so I went to see it a second time.

All of my doubt vanished after that second time. Free from the stimulus overload and excited crowds of opening night, I was able to watch the movie as I preferred to: comfortably. I saw then that The Force Awakens has the core elements of what makes Star Wars: lovable characters, breathtaking settings, and epic scope with distinct movie-making flair and elements of a familiar sci-fi universe. To date, I've now seen it four times, and I'm sure I'll lose count after finally getting my hands on the blu-ray.

There is so much that is fantastic in The Force Awakens. One of the key things to note is that the movie felt like Star Wars should. Scenes alternated between exciting sequences of conflict and tension. There were varieties of different locations and characters to illustrate the vastness of that galaxy far, far away. The movie was paced incredibly well; its lengthy running time seems to fly by. There are even classic screen wipes for scene transitions!

One of my favorite parts of The Force Awakens is its cast of characters. Rey and Finn are interesting and compelling characters brought to life by phenomenal acting on the part of Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. Adam Driver's Kylo Ren has a fascinating struggle with the Dark Side fraught with emotion that adds layers of character, a spiritual successor to Jacen Solo of the old canon. Oscar Isaac made a likeable hotshot pilot. It was also good to see that the old favorites Han and Chewie were integral in the plot of the movie rather than shoehorned in for nostalgia.

The icing on top of the cake, the thing that solidified The Force Awakens as a Star Wars movie, was the John Williams score. As a huge lover of music, I'm convinced that I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie as much without it. Wonderful new themes combined with years of experience produced the best piece of movie scoring in many years (no matter who got the Oscar for it). The masterful craft of John Williams sealed the deal: The Force Awakens is the real thing.

While it is a product of a name-recognition reboot movie scene, The Force Awakens feels nothing like a cash-in on a beloved series. Everyone involved with production seemed to care immensely about adding to the Star Wars story over simply structuring the movie around profitability. While The Force Awakens certainly drew from the flowing well of fond memories, it isn't reliant on them. For the most part, the movie stands on its own without too much support from previous material.

However, it's the support of previous material that I find to be the main weakness of The Force Awakens. The chief complaint of many is based on the plot similarity between this movie and A New Hope. Because it's a tried and true format, The Force Awakens certainly works very well as a movie. It was different enough that it doesn't feel like a rip-off of the original Star Wars, but the parallels are impossible to ignore. Why is Jakku a desert planet? Couldn't Rey have been a scavenger somewhere else? Why does the plot hinge around an important droid? Kylo Ren is a masked Dark Side user with significant familial relations to the previous generation. There's a cantina scene. The First Order is a remnant of the Empire, but the movie does nothing to establish how it was able to wrest control from the victorious Rebellion (instead relying on incomplete spin-off materials to accomplish this), setting up a familiar underdog scenario that doesn't feel very practical.

The element of The Force Awakens that I couldn't take seriously at all was Starkiller base. It's an obvious callback to the Death Star, but has no real significance in the story (it didn't help that my brain automatically refers to it as "laser moon"). The Death Star is critical to the plot of A New Hope: under the looming threat of its power, the Rebels steal the plans in hopes of engineering its destruction. BB-8's map to Luke has nothing to do with Starkiller base, so its appearance halfway through the movie makes it feel awkwardly shoved in as an obligatory superweapon for the good guys to blow up.

The decision to mirror A New Hope was a conscious one, a two-pronged maneuver to provide fans with familiarity and to prove to critics of the prequels that Star Wars has moved past a rut. This was an incredibly smart business decision. However, it's a weakness to the overall story of Star Wars. It really sticks out when viewed alongside fresh new characters and ideas from story-driven perspectives evident in the movie's production.

The Force Awakens is a movie that means a lot to me. Having the opportunity to experience the movie with my family, full of excitement and wonder, reminds me why I love Star Wars and other stories so much. After seeing The Force Awakens, I look forward to Episode VIII with renewed faith and a content smile.

Learning to Fly

In the final moments of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, a plane bound for home takes our heroes across the sky. With their defeat of a great evil, their journey is ending. As I boarded my flight from Phoenix, AZ last week, with the song of their departure in my ears, I knew that mine was just beginning.

If you had asked me even a few months ago what I thought I would be doing after graduating from college, I would have responded with an unsure answer about somehow finding a job (emphasis on "somehow"). I felt as though I were Indiana Jones facing his leap of faith: the path was right in front of me, but I couldn't see it. Right before the beginning of the my last semester, I began scouring the internet for job opportunities. The very first one I came across was a posting for a technical writing internship at Southwest Airlines. Thus, I began the process of tailoring my résumé. Over the course of the next few months, I applied to a wide array of other openings, almost forgetting each application that I submitted.

To my surprise, I got a call back from Southwest, and two interviews and three months later, I was offered the internship. I accepted the offer immediately. To say I was excited would have been an understatement. Knowing that had immediate plans after graduation, I took the opportunity to focus on doing well in my last semester. After finishing up my internship for Austin College after the holidays, I dove headfirst into my new position.

In truth, I'm still excited. I've always been fascinated with air travel, and joining Southwest has only caused that interest to grow. I'm now aware of aspects of flying I hadn't dreamed of before. Additionally, I have the privilege of working with a fantastic department and doing real, tangible work.

Utilizing my intern benefits, I traveled to Phoenix for a day to visit grandparents. Normally, such a trip would require hours of driving or weeks of planning. This time, catching a flight to Arizona had never been easier. Having the freedom to take a short trip halfway across the country was an eye-opening experience. Staring out at the sky from a coveted window seat, I'm amazed now and again about the vastness of the world. Something tells me that it'll never get old.

My first flight as a Southwest intern was an important milestone for me. It was truly a marker of the end of my undergraduate years. A significant part of me will miss the times I had in college: they were some of the most fun years of my life so far. Even so, I'm looking forward with much enthusiasm towards a bright future. The next chapter of my life has taken off.

Return of the Narrative

It’s been just over three years since I made my first foray into the blogsphere. In retrospect, it seemed to be an experimental outlet for writing that wasn’t academic, a product of a time when I was just beginning my college years and the serious study of English. Now that I’ve finished my degree with some promising first steps into a career, I’ve emerged with more complex thoughts and ideas. I may not have updated this blog since 2013, but I never stopped writing. I waded through papers for class, produced marketing communications (a term that sounds too résumé-like for this post), continued to write inconsistent thoughts in journals, and even delved into my fanfiction stories every once in a while (although I updated those stories at the pace of an elderly snail). All of this writing helped move me forward, leaving stories in its wake.

Three years ago, I thought long and hard about what inspires me. I considered music, knowledge, relationships, and a host of other important things…but each of these on its own didn’t give me that feeling that combines excitement, raw emotion, and meaningfulness all into one. Looking back at my first blog post, it would be simple to disregard the observations of myself three years ago.

The funny thing is that it’s true. All of it.

It didn’t quite come to me until after I had written my first post, but soon I came to realize that I feel most alive when I’m enveloped in a story. That certainly hasn’t changed in three years. In fact, if anything, my passion for stories has only gotten stronger. I’m a firm believer that stories are how we make our mark on the world. In the immortal words of the Doctor, “We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?”

With this in mind, I’m jumping back into this blog. I doubt that the topics I write about will be consistent. I definitely won’t be making posts on a regular schedule. The tone of my posts might bounce from silly to serious and critical to positive. But I’ll certainly be returning to write. I’m always thinking, and with my thoughts comes the ever-present urge to pick up my pen, fire up my word processor, and search for stories everywhere and anywhere.

Wondrous Stories

     There are places in the galaxy that are grand and important. The majority of us, we never see those places. But we have our own stories...     - "Nomad," Star Wars Tales: Volume Six

As a writer, I am always searching for ways to learn and gain experience. The more I am familiar with, the more depth my writing will have. Through this, and and inspiration from my dad, I decided to start this blog. I see this blog containing a vast array of subject matter, and the significance of thought will be the only criterion that my posts will meet. And so, I begin with a favorite idea: everyone and everything has a story.

Image from
{http://www.sfsite.com/07a/gn203.htm}

As early in my life as I can remember, I have been utterly fascinated by stories. I think this is why I became, even at a young age, a voracious reader. Reading has been among my favorite activities for quite a long time and I don't ever anticipate becoming disheartened with it. Over the years, I have read many books, and, as difficult as it may be to believe, I have found a series of books that I call my favorites. I first read Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy a year or so before I entered high school, and I loved the series so much that I bought copies for myself after having originally checked them out from the public library. What really appealed to me about the books, in addition to a well-crafted and elaborate fantasy world, was that the characters were deep and I could identify with many of them. The second and third books of the trilogy depict the journey of an unsure young woman named Lirael who discovers her character along the path of destiny with a trusted friend and companion. Lirael's dynamic transformation in the series is incredible, and it still inspires me every time I re-read the books.

Image from
{http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/nintendo/32054/}

Another story that greatly inspires me is actually a handheld video game: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness. The appeal of this story is in the title: mystery. The game opens on the player character, a human-turned-Pokémon who has acquired retrograde amnesia. Throughout the story, the player, and his or her partner, attempt to uncover the strange circumstances behind the player's lost memory. Though the driving force behind the tale is the element of suspense, much emphasis is placed upon the strength of companionship and trust. Plot twists, desperate situations, and ultimatums are dotted throughout the main characters' adventures, with a particular heartwrenching moment that breathes life and spirit into the characters. As with any dynamic characters, they grow and change from the beginning of the story to the end in drastic ways. As I was playing, I felt one with the story, as if I were actually present in the game.

Image from {http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darca_Nyl}

The story "Nomad" from Star Wars Tales: Volume Six (after which this blog is titled) is somewhat different. This short graphic novella follows the journey of a traveler as he jumps from planet to planet with a purpose that is gradually revealed within the pages. On his travels, he meets many individuals, slightly influencing each of their lives, though he never stays for long. He has no companion other than the lightsaber he carries with him, and is always focused on moving towards his goal. On the outside, he is hardened by past horrors. Though wounded on the inside, he is still compelled to assist those he meets in times of need.

Each of these stories have two common themes. There is a journey, rife with unexpected events, and there are connections with others. What brings these characters to life are their reactions to their situations and their interactions with other characters. Therefore, what seems to make a story compelling is its reflection of life.