Star Wars

        When I was roughly eight years old, my father decided to show me the very first Star Wars film that was released in 1977. What I saw on my television that afternoon changed my life forever. George Lucas's masterpiece, this half sci-fi, half western, entranced me and captured my imagination. Immediately following that viewing, the Star Wars franchise became my favorite films of all time and are still to this day. Perhaps the part that impacted me the most was the lightsaber duel between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in the halls of the infamous Death Star. I can still remember my sense of awe when watching that classic scene. Perhaps it was the cross-over of space (which I was fascinated with at the time) and the Jedi knights (similar to the medieval ones that I also liked) that made the Star Wars so important to me as a young child.
         These stories changed the way I thought, and still think to this day. The highly moral main characters of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, contrasted with Darth Vader and the evil Emperor, helped me to develop a sense of right and wrong, good and bad, as well as a definition of justice in my young mind that still pervades my thoughts and choices now. The films captured my young imagination, leading to many games of Star Wars with my friends as well as the purchase of action figures and video game from the franchise. As I grew older, I sought out more movies similar to these films, which led to my current love and enjoyment of science fiction.