Being A Star Trek and Star Wars Fan

Self-reflection while celebrating Star Trek Day.

Frederik Verhagen
4 min readSep 9, 2022
Original images belong to CBS and Disney, respectfully. The author edited them.

Growing up in the nineties, I was brought up with both Star Trek and Star Wars on our television every time it would come on. I enjoyed both universes for different reasons, but most of all, they made me believe humanity could one day explore the boundaries of space.

But if somebody were to ask me whether I’m a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan, I would reply with “both” and follow that up with an explanation.

In A Decade Long, Long Ago…

My interest in science fiction began during the 1990s. My parents(mostly my mother) always watched Star Trek: The Next Generation on cable television, and I sometimes joined her. I found it tough to get into because it felt like “Love Boat in Space with Science and Aliens” at the time. Then Star Trek: Voyager was syndicated on our local public television channel with more emphasis on science and exploration, and it beamed me aboard the fandom.

A few years later, we purchased the Special Edition VHS box set of the Star Wars trilogy. I can’t count all the times I locked myself in their bedroom and watched episodes 4 through 6 on the weekend.

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Frederik Verhagen

Stay-at-home father and dork who writes about creativity, science fiction, and little discoveries in life. 🔗 bumblebearcreations.carrd.co