Fandom Origin Stories: Star Trek

Star Trek has a very special place in my heart because I consider it my first fandom. I have several family members who are Trekkies and it has always been a part of my life. I was basically born a Trekkie. In fact, some of my earliest memories are about Star Trek. My brothers were always talking about it, my aunt would tape episodes for us and we’d binge-watch TNG even before binge-watching was a thing, and my very first celebrity crush was on Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. (Yep, even at a young age, I appreciated logic!)

Watching TNG and DS9 made me happy and by the time VOY came out I was ecstatic! This was the first time a Star Trek show aired on my tv regularly and each week I would catch up with the Voyager crew. The strong female role-models like Captain Janeway, and later Seven of Nine, were encouraging to watch as a girl and it helped me to navigate the rocky teenage years that lied ahead.

More recently I have thoroughly enjoyed the new iteration of films and look forward to Star Trek Beyond, coming out later this month. I also am very excited and curious to see what the new series has in store. Although I have been disappointed by Trek in the past (Enterprise, I’m talking to you!) I choose to remain optimistic and eagerly await the premier next year!

I love that Star Trek is all about looking to the future with hope, positivity and unity. Even though there is plenty of conflict in the Trek universe, they always try to work together to solve whatever problem comes their way. The technology is also mind blowing – things like holodecks, transporters, replicators and tricorders make me yearn to live in a future where science fiction has become science fact. What’s cool is that we’ve already seen a lot of advances in science actually inspired by Star Trek.

Gene Roddenberry was truly a visionary and his timeless stories continue inspire both fictionally and in real life. I am proud to be Trekkie and can’t wait for more stories to take me to the final frontier and beyond!

Live long and prosper!

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Remembering Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

I don’t remember the first episode of Star Trek I watched. I was pretty much born into a family of Trekkies and Trek has always been a part of my life. But some of my earliest memories of Star Trek are of Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. Even at a young age I gravitated to his logical personality and Spock has always been one of my favorite Trek characters. I grew up admiring him and trying to live my life in a logical way that would make Spock proud.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized Leonard Nimoy was so much more than Spock. I was honored to see some panels Mr. Nimoy put on at a few cons over the years. Though he was speaking to thousands of people, he always gave a presentation that was both personal and heart-warming. He was kind enough to show family photos and some of his own personal photography. It was clear to me that not only was Mr. Nimoy one of the nicest guys in show business, but he was just a nice person period.

When I heard the news of his passing, my heart sank. Initially was I was speechless and it took me a few hours to even come up any words that could begin to convey the sadness I feel. The world has lost a great actor, writer, photographer but most of all a great human being. Though the loss of such a great icon seems illogical, take comfort in these words from Spock himself:

 “Every life comes to an end when time demands it. Loss of life is to be mourned, but only if the life was wasted.”

Certainly Leonard Nimoy’s life was not wasted and I know he will continue to inspire people for generations to come.

Live long and prosper and hugs to all of my fellow Trekkies!