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sunshine jen: My Star Wars Water Bottle
On Wednesday, my new facebook friend Tracy (hi Tracy! You’re on happyrobot! Omg!) had a link tothe Furious Fan boys website who had a post about Katie, a girl in Chicago (a first grader) who had been teased for her Star Wars water bottle by some boys who said girls can’t like Star Wars.
After Katie’s story went mega-viral to plague proportions, both male and female Star Wars fans have been rallying and unleashing the power of the force. Meanwhile, Katie’s Mom (whose blog was the source of the story) has been encouraging people to donate Star Wars toys to children’s hospitals.
By the way, I kind of feel bad for the boys who teased Katie. They didn’t know any better. They’re in the first grade. They can’t even do multiplication yet.
Still, I understand what Katie’s going through. When I was her age, I didn’t have a Star Wars water bottle. We didn’t drink water out of bottles back in the old days.
However, I did have a Superman raincoat. It was yellow. It had the Superman logo on the front and Superman on the back. It kept me dry and made me feel super when I put it on.
When I wore it to school, the boys did make fun, and it was upsetting. Girls weren’t supposed to wear Superman. Girls weren’t supposed to be super. Girls were supposed to wear Strawberry Shortcake who I always thought was kind of lame.
I soon outgrew Superman. He’s just too super. I need flawed heroes.
I still love the Star Wars though.
And Princess Leia was way cooler than Holly Hobbie. If it wasn’t for Princess Leia hiding the plans to the death star in R2D2, there would be no Star Wars. Who flew the Millennium Falcon through the asteroid field while Han and Chewie were trying to fix the hyper drive? I believe that would be Princess Leia. Who unfroze her boyfriend when he was encased in carbonite? Princess Leia.
Princess Leia was right in there with the boys. She carried her weight. She wasn’t about how many outfits you had. She was about thinking and leading and persevering even when it all looked hopeless. She never gave up, and the boys around her would have been lost without her.
I think Princess Leia would have gotten along well with Little Katie in Chicago. It’s true, you don’t forget the kids who tease you or make fun, but you also don’t forget the things that bring you joy. Even when it looks really bad (like at the end of Empire Strikes Back), there’s still some hope---and a sky full of stars---and a John Williams score.
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