So You Want to Be a Jedi?

by Adam Gidwitz

  And if someone says something you do not like—maybe it is mean, or stupid, or petty—do not say anything in return. Just realize that that person is being influenced by the dark side. And that you don’t have to be.

  And if, tomorrow, you see someone sitting alone, or needing defense, or even just needing a smile—help that person out. Even if it makes you look weird or uncool. Remember, Jedi have a higher calling than cool.

  Your penultimate test is to live for one full day in harmony with the Force.

  Your ultimate test is to live the next day, and the day after, and the day after that in harmony with the Force as well. That is not just your ultimate test. It is the ultimate test.

  There is nothing more to being a Jedi Master.

  (Oh, well…there are the backflips and lightsabers, I guess. But those will come. Eventually.)

  YOU ARE LYING in a medical bed aboard a rebel star cruiser. You flex the muscles in your right arm. The mechanical fingers, covered with perfectly convincing silicon skin, flex and stretch exactly as you intend. A medical droid pokes your fingers with a needle, and you wince. Then grin.

  A voice comes over the comlink next to the bed. It’s Lando. “Luke, we’re ready for takeoff.”

  “Good luck, Lando,” you reply.

  Through the speaker, you hear Chewie yodel.

  “You, too, Chewie,” you add.

  “When we find Jabba and that bounty hunter, we’ll contact you.”

  You agree. “I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine.”

  Then you stand up, stretch, and make your way from the medical center to where Leia is standing by a large window, watching the Falcon move away from its dock. She’s been listening to your conversation over the comlink.

  “We’ll find him, Princess,” Lando says. “I promise.”

  You put your arm around Leia and think about how you saw her—no, felt her—a shining point of light in the great field of the Force. You look at her.

  But she is staring at the Falcon. R2-D2 rolls up to the window, followed by C-3PO. You follow their gaze. You think of Lando, and Chewie—but mostly, you think of Han.

  You speak into the comlink, but when you say it, you are saying it for them all. Leia and Han, R2 and C-3PO, Lando and Chewie, Ben and Yoda.

  Even Vader. You are thinking of him, too.

  You inhale, and you exhale. And then you say, “May the Force be with you.”

  HERE IS A LIST of just a few of the Ben Kenobis and Yodas to whom I owe a debt of gratitude:

  Sensei Eric Delannoy and Sensei Masahiko Honma. Sarah Burnes and Julie Strauss-Gabel. Dr. Gold and Dr. O. Dan and Alana. Joanne Chan Taylor and Carol Roeder. Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee. Elizabeth Schaefer and, especially, the brave and wise Michael Siglain.

  Also, Tony DiTerlizzi (you’re Ben, because you sent me to Dagobah) and Tom Angleberger (you’re Yoda, because your knowledge is so arcane and deep—except when it comes to the Tonnika sisters) and Alex Bracken (who is obviously our group’s Leia. Cosign?).

  Finally, I want to thank Lauren, who is my Leia, and Zachary, who is my Luke. (What’s that, Zach? You thought you were going to be my Han? Please. I’m Han.)

  ADAM GIDWITZ is the New York Times best-selling author of the Tale Dark and Grimm series. His books have been named ALA Notables; New York Times Editor’s Choice; and best book of the year by Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus. Adam was a teacher for eight years in Brooklyn, where he currently resides.