I was alone, in my mother’s bedroom, watching the premiere on the spare television, while my mother, sister, and step-dad were in the living room watching something else. I sat on the floor, my legs against my chest, with arms wrapped around my legs, my chin resting on my knees, excitedly anticipating the opening title sequence. To 11-year-old me, this day was the most important day of my life.

When the opening title sequence began, I started to shake with excitement. I was in awe. The visuals for the opening sequence blew my mind. I began to recite the words, alongside Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The words that came out of my mouth were, “Its five-year mission.” But what came out of Captain Picard’s mouth were, “Its continuing mission.” My brain stopped. Out loud, with no one to hear me, I exclaimed, “It’s different! I wonder what else has changed!” I continued to recite the opening dialog. What came out of my mouth was, “To boldly go where no man has gone before!” What came out of Captain Picard’s mouth was, “To boldly go where no one has gone before!” I began to shake even more, and I had a rare burst of strong emotion.

I knew at that very moment that I would love Star Trek: The Next Generation just as much as Star Trek: The Original Series. Then, for the next two hours, as I watched Encounter at Farpoint, I sat completely mesmerized at all the things that were different, and happy to see many things that were true to the first series. Even more amazing to me was that this series had two characters for me to relate to, whereas Star Trek: The Original Series only gave me one character to help me feel less alone, and less alien, in a world full of humans. Star Trek: The Original Series gave me the character of Spock.