Making Friends Through Star Wars

[Tricia’s note: One of my goals for FANgirl Blog has always been to give more fangirls a chance to have their voices heard. So when I found out that Linda’s daughter not only was going to their local Star Wars Reads Day at the bookstore, but also having a Star Wars Reads event at her school, I made sure to offer her a chance to write up her experiences for the blog. Previously we posted her report. Now Skylar is back with an additional follow-up.]

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Guest post by Skylar

It all started when I asked my school teacher, Miss H, if she could do Star Wars Reads Day for my fifth grade class. We filled out worksheets, talked about our favorite movie episodes, and got posters and bookmarks from Erich at Del Rey. When we were talking about our favorite characters, I was surprised. More than a quarter of the girls in class raised their hands for Ewoks, Princess Leia, and more Ewoks.

The next day Miss H brought in a pop-up book of Star Wars. I was shocked when my friend, who had claimed she cared more about toast than Star Wars, picked up the book and started reading it. When I gave her a quizzical look, she shrugged and replied, “Why not?”

A week or so later, some of my classmates were at a Girl Scouts meeting. The topic was: Who are Some Role Models from a Book, Movie, Etc., that You Want to be Like? I started to fill out mine, when another one of my friend’s paper caught my eye. Padmé, was first on the list neatly enveloped in a heart.

“You like Star Wars?” I asked.

“Yeah! I totally love Star Wars!” she exclaimed.

From then on, I realized that Star Wars Reads Day hadn’t just been a free kick out of reading for the girls in my class. It had been a changing point for all of us. The girls chatted about things such as Star Wars and comics, which they had never done before.

One of my friends who liked comics started talking about them freely and showed more of them to the rest of the girls. One day a girl in my class asked me if I wanted to play soccer with the boys. They played soccer really rough, even in rain, heat waves, and hail. I had tried once and it ended up with me having a bloody knee. “Sure!” I said as I dashed off to the game. More things like that happened.

That one Star Wars-themed hour made me see all of my friends in a different light. They showed me a different side of themselves. A stronger side.

I’m glad Miss H agreed to do Star Wars Reads Day because the girls got to express themselves freely. It made me proud to be a fangirl out loud, and I’m sure all my friends felt the same.