Hours Gone By

 Day 8Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Spock's death scene. Oh my god. Just amazing and so emotional and tragic and gorgeous. I still can't watch it with dry eyes. The only thing that's ever made me cry that much is the (first) death of (the first) Optimus Prime.

Day Six

In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Star Trek
Star Trek was my introduction to science fiction, and being a fan, even if I barely remember when I first watched it. When I was two-three years old, Star Trek was broadcast on CBC during the weekdays at about the same time as my nap. I don't remember how I first got interested, or if one of my parents tried to interest me in it. But my mother made me a deal: if I was good, and if it was an appropriate episode (anything too scary was out) I could sit quietly and watch Star Trek instead of taking a nap for an hour. This was wise: campy as it can come across today, there's a reason it's stood the test of time, and that is the messages of acceptance and equality it provides.

Star Trek also provided me with an interest in computers, electronics, and machines in general. Not because of Scotty - no, even that young I knew that machines were supposed to be a 'guy thing', so that didn't really have an effect on me. There is a scene where Uhura is under the comm console fixing the circuitry - replacing parts, soldering, etc. - and not only does she not ask for help, she refuses Spock's offer of help because she's perfectly capable. I remember sitting up straight and realizing 'women can be good at machines too!' I didn't end up working in a hardware field, but that's not important. (My job has aspects of customer service, process improvement, and workflow management, if you're curious.) I was shown that I could, if I wanted to. No limits, not for me, not for anyone. Real life doesn't work that way. Not yet. But it should.