One simple look.

That's all it took to grab the attention, to kidnap the senses and pull them closer to simply see...and feel.

Just one fleeting moment. One simple binary sunset of purples and reds...and a sigh from a farmboy filled with wanderlust. A hoper that wanted more out of life than what his "family" had to offer him. A dreamer that knew his future lied along a different path than that of his peers.

A disappointed boy. A boy who simply watched the suns set on all of those adventures, hopes and dreams. And he stared hopelessly as they simply burned out, dying, falling...sinking into the sands of the very planet that held him back.

In that one moment, I became a fan. But "fan" isn't even the proper word for it, is it? "Fan" sounds too...fun. All too often, I take part in the playful side of this fandom. The collecting (Star Wars Legos decorate my computer desk), the costumes (my Jedi robe is hanging in its rightful place on my door)...all of that sort of "kid stuff" that no one really understands except you (oh, yeah, I own coloring books too...which have been used.) After all, that's what Star Wars is all about right? It's about the fantasy - that operatic space drama that we can use as an escape tactic to take us away from the real world if only for a moment.

What happens, though, when in one moment, that space drama that seemed like the biggest piece of fiction on earth reflects your reality?

In that one moment - that one look from Luke Skywalker as he watched those suns setting - I saw myself. Maybe it sounds silly. Maybe it sounds absurd. Maybe you'll say, "Shada, you need to get out more and meet people." But it's true. It happened. And every now and then, I still see it.

I don't just see it, either. I feel it. Every disappointment, every hurt, every...hollow ache inside of your chest that just...begs for something more. Something you know is out there waiting for you but you lack the means and the know-how and the courage and will-power to strive for it. And everything else around you just gobbles up that hope, that dream, and all you can do is just hang your head and walk away.

That's what made me a fan. It wasn't because I thought Han Solo was a dreamboat. It wasn't because I wanted to chop arms off like Obi-Wan Kenobi. And it wasn't because I wanted to fly an X-Wing. Okay...so it was partially because I wanted to fly an X-Wing, but that's not my point.

It was that one moment that started it, that let me identify with a character and connect to him. And then watch as he jumped one obstacle over another that stood in his way...and overcame the strongholds of the past to find his true destiny.

And he made me think I could do the same.