Stars Align

Starr Casilla always knew that there was something greater than herself. A feeling like no other and she felt that looking at the stars. When she was younger, her mom would always say to her, "a veces la estrella que está sola brilla más brillante, pero cuando dos estrellas brillantes se juntan, solo brillan más". It meant, "Sometimes the star that is alone shines the brightest, but when two bright stars come together, they only shine brighter."

That always stuck with her because her mom said that's what happens when you fall in love. Two stars become one and the love makes you shine even brighter. Every night before bed, she looks out her window to find the brightest star and pairs it with another. She was hopeful she would find a love like mami and papi. Her papi was her biggest fan. A sentimental immigrant who knew a lot of what it takes to have nothing and become something great. Mami knew that she would become something great on her own terms and left behind her family to start her own. She wanted the world for me. When they both got deported back to Mexico, I made it a goal to turn their dreams into a reality and was determined to do so. Little did I know the stars that aligned were nothing like I had imagined. Starr was in the middle of her senior year of college at the University of Cambridge studying law with a minor in human, social, and political sciences. She wanted to do what mami does and use her life to help people. So she started college right after my Senior Year and "didn't waste any time" according to her brother Juan. He became like a father figure to her even though he knew he had nothing to worry about up until the day she met him. As soon as she saw him from across the quad her heart skipped a beat and it's as if he felt the volt of electricity that had gone through every inch of my body because he looked up from his textbook and locked eyes with her. Right at that exact moment, they shared a few moments of curiosity as to what just happened, and just as soon as he saw her, he shut his book and he made a beeline across the green grass directly towards her. As soon as she saw him coming, she got up and walked away. He was probably just as confused as she was as she made her way back to her room. She avoided the quad as much as possible until her roommate Grace invited her to a book club that happened to be held there later that week. She couldn't say no because the one excuse she had to not go was too much of a secret to be shared, so she got dressed, grabbed her books and left my room. As soon as she seen him, her brain was going into flight mode but she felt a magnetic pull that, without thinking, led her standing right in front of mystery man. She didn't say anything and finally hears, "Hi. I am John Laurens." In an adorable accent. She manages to let out a soft spoken, "Hi. I'm Starr Casillas." Just then, her friend Grace made an announcement they were going to start. He said, "Come on, let's sit." From those few words, she could tell that this was going to turn into a pivotal moment in her life that could change everything. Boy was she right. They spent the rest of Senior Year smiling, laughing, adventuring, reading, and going on double dates with her friend Grace. After finals, she felt a relief lift off her shoulder and she started thinking about all the time with John she had spent and felt this giddiness like she's never felt. She thought, could this more than just a Senior Year fling? We haven't even talked about life after college. All these thoughts flooded her mind and she ran to where John's favorite place was and there he was sitting in the tree playing guitar. He must've seen the anxiousness written all over her face because he says, "hey love, what's wrong?". She immediately starts to burst into tears. He climbs down from the tree and meets her with a kiss on the head and takes her into his arms. "Starr, love, what's wrong?", he asks again. She stepped back away from him, took baby breaths to try and calm herself down. She felt this pressure in her chest. John had made her rethink about who she wants to be during those 6 months of spending time and getting to know each other and she thought outside of the box and had all these dreams about who she could be and what her life with John could be like. It wasn't until the moment she burst into tears that it occurred to her to remember her mami and papi and what she thought she would do for them. She looks to meet Johns eyes and said two words: "the future." Just then, without skipping a beat he replies, "We will figure it out. Let's take our time to just be in the moment with the special moments we have with the people around us." After he had spoken every anxious and fearful thought washed away and she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She knew that he was right. It wasn't a coincidence that they found each other. She knew that he would take care of her and felt a trust in him like nobody else. She smiled as she stepped back into his arms and knew that this was something that would last a lifetime and it did. Every moment since that day at the end of Senior Year she knew that every time she looked at the stars she would be reminded of what mami told her and how two lost stars found their way together and shined brighter than ever before.