A long time ago in a city not too far away, a couple of young directors set out to create a film saga that would go on to become one of the most popular franchises the world has seen.

The Star Wars franchise began in 1977 and still continues to this day. There are now eight movies, a tv series, several books and a variety of different merchandise. In 2011, Star Wars fans began the celebration of Star Wars Day on May 4.

“May the Force be with you” is an essential catchphrase throughout the Star Wars universe, which was why the date May 4 was chosen since it could be easily made into the pun: “May the Fourth be with you.”

Even though Lucasfilm never officially declared “Star Wars Day,” so many fans across the world celebrate it, that it became an unofficial national holiday.

Growing up as the youngest of three kids, I was exposed to many “cool things.” I grew up in a small town with two older sisters, and as I have gotten older, boy am I sure glad that I got exposed to Star Wars at a young age.

For the longest time, my favorite Star Wars film of all time was “Return of the Jedi,” and even after re-watching ALL the Star Wars films in the span of the week, that hasn’t changed. My favorite Star Wars movie is still “Return of the Jedi,” with “The Force Awakens” coming in close second.

A lot of fans disagreed with me though. Francesco Somaini, a communications professor, said, “I like “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” because of how dark the film is compared to the others.”

The reason I like “Return of the Jedi,” is because in a sense, the movie is a part of me and reminds me of my childhood. It was also the first Star Wars film I ever watched, and I remember bawling every time I watched the film. “Return of the Jedi,” was always there for me when I needed something to understand how I was feeling and was there for me when I felt the need to shed a tear.

I decided to watch Star Wars in the order I was taught to watch Star Wars: in the order that they were released. So I started off my Star Wars marathon by watching episode 4-6, then episode 1-3, then episode 7 and last but not least “Rogue One”.

Many Star Wars fanatics argue with this order though. Most say that the order that the films should be watched is: Episode 1, 2, 3, “Rogue One,” 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Jack, a junior studying broadcast journalism said, “If you want to include the cannon T.V. shows, watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in between episodes 2 and 3 and Star Wars: Rebels after episode 3 before Rogue One.”

[Spoiler warning]

“Some say this spoils the big reveal in episode five of Darth Vader being Luke’s father, but I for one disagree because by watching them chronologically,” Jack said. “You are introduced to the universe of Star Wars and are given a broad view of where some of the major players in the original movies are coming from.”

In early summer 1977, a new movie had just come out: “Star Wars: A New Hope.” All people really knew about it was that it was directed by George Lucas, who is also known as the ‘American Graffiti guy.’ “A New Hope” (1977), tops the Star Wars movie money list with $3 billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Since 1977, Star Wars has become a pop-culture phenomenon that is still popular amongst people of the younger generation.

Logan Grubb, a safety and health management major, said “I think Star Wars is a foundation of our society and I feel like when it was made, a lot of people were oblivious to science fiction and could not even fantasize what like in space could be like.”

For many fans, Star Wars is about “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” It allows fans to captivate and imagine the universe across any media type. In a sense, fans are able to enter a world that is not really talked about but also gives people a chance to escape reality and enter a fantasy world where people can feel like it exists outside of our galaxy.

This is why many fanatics enjoy dressing up as their favorite Star Wars characters and attending  conventions. This allows people to enter a different universe in real life, aside from watching the films in a theater or in the comfort of their home.

Serna Burrell, a freshman clinical physiology major, Star Wars is about the thrill of watching the film. Burrell said, “I like how the stories are intertwined in some way or another and it makes you stay on your toes because you are always wondering what is going to happen.”

In the past five years, I have talked to many people about Star Wars and their opinion about the craze. Recently, Jane, senior art major, said “Personally, I do not like Star Wars and do not understand why people like it so much because to me, Star Wars is boring and I do not like science fiction.”

Other students would disagree though. For instance, Grubb said, “My only complaint about Star Wars is the unnecessary editing done in episode IV-VI. The remastered versions take away the originality of what it was back in the day, such as Jabba the Hutt, but I love Star Wars and it is a part of my upbringing.”

When you are in a tough situation or when you are having a bad day, remember that the force is always strong and the force is always with you. And on May fourth, May the fourth be with you.

Editor’s note: Jack and Jane are fictitious names to keep the sources anonymous