Glitter For Carrie
I was definitely one of those girls who had their hair braided into “Princess Leia Buns” as a child. My two sisters and I would make our mom sit for hours braiding all three of our hair into the iconic hairstyle.
My childhood was defined by a princess who not only was a princess but was also a rebel leader and later a general. I never understood how people could say a princess was just silly and only cared about how they looked and finding a prince to marry, because my princess was so much more than that.
In 2015, THE FORCE AWAKENS was set to release and all of a sudden STAR WARS was back in my life and so was my princess. In 2015, my mother died of cancer and my father did not take it well. For the next two years, my life was in turmoil due to both external and internal conflicts.
Stories of Carrie back on set for THE FORCE AWAKENS was one of the things that kept me pushing forward, as I had to deal with my own depression. I admired how open she was about her mental health, even about the darker side that lead to drug abuse.
Carrie was known for decorating her fans with glitter, and as she said in her book, “her therapist … always knew she was having an ‘off’ time in her head depending on how much glitter she’d show up wearing to appointments." It was her way of making the world sparkle and shine even when it felt dark. It made her feel better. Evidently, she wanted to share that with others.” The way she was so open about her mental health was so inspiring and always pushed me to take better care of my own mental health.
To this day, I see posts reminding me and others who may be suffering with their own mental health issues, that “Space Mom would want us to take our meds and take care of ourselves.” And for that reason, I never forget to wear glitter on May the 4th.
Time-travel dramedy SPEED OF LIFE makes its Texas Premiere with Other Worlds Orbiter on Wednesday, August 28th (7:30pm) at Galaxy Highland Theatre. Tickets available now!
