Captain Kathyrn Janeway of the USS Voyager led her crew through the Delta Quadrant and eventually returned to Earth on television from 1995 to 2001. At this same time, I traveled from a freshman in high school to a junior in college. While I was in high school, I tuned in every Saturday night at 10:35p to watch Captain Janeway and her crew encounter the Kazon and Vidiians, battle The Borg, endure a year of hell, and free Seven of Nine. After I left for college, my mom taped episodes for me, and I watched them when I came home to visit. I was captivated by the storylines and drawn in by the characters. Janeway was a scientist and a leader, and I wanted to be just like her.

Janeway was calm, intelligent, and confident. She moved quickly through her ship and focused on getting her crew home. She was also human. She sought advice from Tuvok or Chakotay, her Chief of Security and First Officer. She knew how to hustle pool and enjoyed exploring good literature. I saw a multi-dimensional female leader catapulted into unknown territory.

I was drawn to the stories in Star Trek: Voyager and Captain Janeway because they were in the uncharted Delta Quadrant. I was in high school, headed into my own Delta Quadrant: adulthood. The stories gave me the escape I needed from high school, which is not a hospitable place for a fat girl with glasses who doesn’t hide her intelligence. I read books between classes and on the bus during my freshman and sophomore years rather than socializing with my peers. I couldn’t relate to them. I wasn’t boy-crazy and didn’t care about fashion or basketball games. However, I related to the characters in Voyager. They used their intelligence to explore the world around them. They celebrated their differences. Janeway was the strong, intelligent leader I wanted to be.

I would eventually find my people, those who didn’t make fun of me for being smart, and develop my leadership skills. I watch reruns of Voyager every now and then. I still love the Janeway character, but the show doesn’t hit me like it used to. I am a different person now than I was then. I have charted enough of my life now that the new frontier doesn’t seem as big and uncertain as it did back then.