People who inspire… a series: Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher passed away in December of 2016.

This affected me – far more than I thought it would. It affected me on the level of losing Robin Williams, and almost to the level of losing Jim Henson. This was big.

Over the past month, I’ve been thinking about Carrie frequently and asking myself why her loss was so great for me and obviously for so many other people. I don’t really have an answer, but I have some thoughts.

First – Carrie was a hero. She wasn’t a heroine. She was a hero. For so many reasons and to so many people. But to my young eyes watching her on the big screen in 1977, she was MY hero for being a strong, smart, woman – who happened to be a pretty princess. More importantly, she was a chick who got shit done. I always liked that.

I enjoy Disney films and Disney princesses (Leia is now owned by Disney, but sure as heck wasn’t in 1977!), but I never really wanted to be like them. I wanted to be like Leia. I wanted to be like her in my everyday life. I remember dressing as her for a costume party when I was young and trying OH SO HARD to get my hair to make the cinnamon buns on the side of my head. You need LOTS of hair – or other magical hacks to get that much hair on the side of your head. I had lots, but it still wasn’t enough. Regardless, I wanted to be a chick who got shit done!

Carrie Fisher as Leia

Second – Carrie was funny. Really funny. Sensually funny. Sarcastically funny. Witty. Glib. All of that. And she just kept it up and didn’t censor herself. I found that inspiring. I still do. Thank heavens for youtube and video footage of her interviews on talk shows and other such events. I’ve been watching a number of those and still have a tab open so I can watch some more.

Third – Carrie didn’t give up. She didn’t give up on herself, her family, her career, her mental health… any of it. And she didn’t give a FUDGE if anyone didn’t like her for it. She just did what she needed to do. I love that about her.

Carrie

I could probably continue to elaborate why I love her and why I miss her, but I know that many of you felt the same when she left us. I’ll just say, that she inspired me when she first broke on the scene in 1977 and just because she’s left this particular location – doesn’t mean she will stop inspiring me.

I know her loss has affected others – like A nun’s life  who wrote another great article about the profound affect that Carrie had upon her.  Like the author, I rewatched Carrie in the original Star Wars on the night of her passing and I continue to marvel at her gift to us. I will always thank her for being a great lady, who got it done.

Thanks Carrie.

Author: Ceris Thomas

Ceris is a creative person. She teaches by day - and finds as much creativity in her job as she can and by night, (and during every spare minute she has), she creates through directing/choreographing and performing plays, drawing, writing, podcasting and now, sewing puppets. She likes to help others find and nurture their creativity and she loves finding out about other people's path to their own creative projects.

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