When I was bored as a little kid, sometimes I'd start imagining different stories in my head. Stories where something really bad would happen, and I'd have to step up and save all my friends. The adults and teenagers would somehow get cut out of the picture, so it was just us kids. Even though I wasn't always the oldest, I took charge, and everyone followed me. (Hey, these were my daydreams! ) In one scenario, we had been kidnapped, but I helped us escape. In another, all the adults had been killed, but I helped everyone hide and then run to get help. I always came up with a plan. My closest friends were my advisors. I comforted the really little kids and organized the older ones to get tasks done. It was great, and I always felt so brave and smart - like I could do anything!

Why am I telling you all this? In the words of Obi-Wan, "Patience!" I'll get there in a minute! Is anyone else here a fan of the show, Jericho? (I am so mad that they cancelled it again! Idiots! ) If you aren't, I'll explain. A bunch of important U.S. cities get blown up, including D.C. Out in the middle of nowhere, there's this little town called Jericho, where the story takes place. The show is about how the people of the town find a way to survive the ensuing chaos. They come up against radiation, food shortages, disease, criminals, and even mercenaries supposedly hired by the government (who, in reality, try to gather supplies by any means necessary - even by killing innocent people). They also have a huge conflict with another town. During this time of disorder, different people in the town step up and do some really amazing things. Even the teenagers have to help guard Jericho at one point.

Throughout both seasons, I was amazed at the strength and bravery these people showed. They were doing things that I had imagined myself doing as a kid - and even harder, scarier things!

During the second season, I was reading the Republic Commando books, and I had the same thoughts there. Without warning, Etain found herself in the middle of a war, and "Jedi" suddenly meant "general/commander." Now, if I was a Jedi, I'm sure I'd be a different person, both physically (I'd be strong! ) and mentally (I'd know a thing or two about wars and battles). But even then, switching from the role of peacekeeper into brilliant general would scare me to death! I don't know the first thing about leading troops, and I doubt I'd know much more if I was a Jedi! I mean, it wasn't something they'd planned on, so I doubt anyone put too much time into studying that type of thing. Yet Etain did her best to step into her new role. All the Jedi had to.

And for those of you who haven't read these books or watched this show, I've had the same thoughts watching the Saga. How could Leia withstand torture at the hands of Darth Vader? How could the Rebels be so brave? How could Obi-Wan try to kill his former apprentice, even though he knew he had gone to the dark side? How could he sacrifice himself for Luke and co.? Again, how did the Jedi handle their change in roles? Didn't anyone ever just want to run, hide, and pretend it was all just a bad dream?

"Um, Jade?" you ask. "How do you plan on tying this all together?" Ah, well I'm glad you asked! In True Colors, Kal Skirata asked this question: "Do other people live their lives like this? Do they take these kinds of risks?" It was at that moment that everything I was thinking and feeling about Jericho and Star Wars came together in my mind. What drew me to these stories and characters so much? It was my own inner question: "Could I be as brave as these men and women? Could I step up when the opportunity arose? Or would I simply be another civilian - a background character who just takes orders, or a coward who runs and hides?" It's easy to imagine yourself doing brave things, but it's a whole lot scarier when you actually have to do them. You're not in control of the story, so you don't know what the outcome will be.

Could I do it? I'm not sure. I bet my emotions would get the better of me at some point, so I wouldn't be quite as tough as some of my heroes seem to be. I would definitely need others around me to share the burden with. Which isn't so bad, really. On Jericho, there were a few central characters who led: Johnston Green, Jake Green (), Eric Green, Gray Anderson (*rolls eyes at him for his actions in the first season*), and Robert Hawkins. And the women helped out too: Mrs. Green, Emily, and Heather, mainly. In the RC books, Kal had Walon Vau (to an extent) to share the load with, as well as Jaller Obrim. And Etain just . . . did it. She learned from her troops and battles. Sure, she wasn't the best general in the galaxy, but she did okay, and at least she sincerely cared about her troops. As for the Jedi in general and the Rebels, they certainly had each other to lean on and learn from. And Obi-Wan? That man never ceases to amaze me . . . .

Another problem would be just plain fear. Fear of failure mostly. I wouldn't want to let anyone down or get people killed or something! (Etain definitely faced this.)

However, I do know that I will always fight for what's right. And I think that, in essence, that's what all my heroes kept their eyes on. Sure things were tough. Sure they were scared. But they knew what they had to do, and they knew it was more important than their fear. It would be better to try and fail than to not try at all.

So maybe I wouldn't do too badly after all. Maybe I wouldn't cower in fear like a normal civilian. Maybe I could step up, be brave, and do the hard - but right - thing.

MTFBWY,
Jade