The Connection Is Strong With Star Wars

So. I saw the new Star Wars movie last night.

::Internal screaming::

::External screaming:: 

Okay. No spoilers. No gushing. No sobbing. I promise.

BUT SERIOUSLY. YOU NEED TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

Okay. I'm done.

I got the chance to see the new movie with some of my favorite people. We showed up at the theater at 6 pm (6 hours before our showing) and sat on the floor and ate food, played card games, and tried to keep the circulation in our legs going (You try sitting on cold tile for six hours and then laugh at me).

Now, don't get me wrong. The movie was good. The people were amazing. The food was good. But my favorite part about that premiere was watching people connect.

There were a lot of people at that theater (The line went through the whole lobby and outside into the parking lot). The people there had different religious beliefs, backgrounds, political opinions, different favorite Star Wars movies, etc.

But none of that mattered. Because the only thing that mattered was the common love of the Star Wars franchise.

I watched people introduce themselves to strangers so they could compliment them on their Storm Trooper outfits. I saw a woman walk all the way across the lobby to share a laugh with another woman who was wearing the same Chewbacca Hoodie.

And it was just fun.

For once people weren't trying to cram their beliefs down other people's throats. They weren't talking about Donald Trump or what's going on over in Syria. For six hours last night, we were all just nerds there to fangirl about one of our favorite franchises.

And it was amazing.

It wasn't until we sat down in our seats in the theater when I realized something.

It is so easy for us to focus on our differences, the things we don't agree on, how different we all are, etc. And lately, after watching all of the junk on the news, I think that's all we are choosing to focus on. We focus on our different political beliefs and different religious beliefs and we quit focusing on the fact that we are all in the exact same boat. 

We are all human. Clumsy, messed up humans trying our best to figure life out. Yeah. We may be in different phases of life and come from completely different backgrounds. But we are all struggling with something, sometimes with very similar things.

And sitting in line watching people connect with people over Star Wars last night reminded of that. I got to spend 6 hours watching people forget how different we all are and focus on their common adoration for Hans Solo and R2D2.

That made me kind of sad when I woke up this morning. Because I love that connection. I love seeing how one common love can bring all kinds of people together. But it made me realize how much I want to carry that connection with people even beyond the movie theater.

If I see someone wearing an R2D2 shirt, I'm going to go and talk with them. Yeah. That might be a bit weird and I'll probably make a fool of myself. But that 2 minutes of connecting with a complete stranger is totally worth it.

I want to start focusing on the things that we all have in common, whether that be a love for Star Wars or the fact that the Barista at Starbucks and I both have blonde hair. We live in a world that is constantly being torn apart by our differences. And I'm getting tired of choosing to focus on that.

I'm not saying that this will cure all of our problems. But that connection, no matter how small, can make a difference in one person's life. And sometimes, that is everything. 

The connection was strong with Star Wars. And I'm going to choose to carry that connection with me. And I'm kind of hoping you do the same.

May the Connection be with you.
Kimberly

P.S. Sorry, not sorry, for the Star Wars jokes.