Hi Wil, I’ve been on a rewatch of TNG, and watching Wesley has reminded me how much the character inspired me as a kid. He was a kid, getting to live every nerdy kids dream. Now as an adult working in science, I’ve been having a rough time, and I get to see Wesley make mistakes, but he always fixes them. And that’s helped me keep going. I wanted to saying thank you bringing that character to life! And inspiring me through all these years!
When I was Wesley, I was in the same place on occasion as Jimmy Doohan, who played Scotty on the original series. Every single time I was near him, multiple people who were engineers or scientists told him that he inspired them to pursue their careers.
I always thought it was so cool, and such an incredible gift and blessing to be a person who is just playing a role, yet still be able to inspire people to greatness. And not just greatness, but greatness in the scientific fields that will have a profound effect on the future of humanity.
What you’ve shared with me is something I never would have thought possible when I was Wesley, and it means the world to me to know that the work I did back then, and all the crap I endured (and still endure) from loud idiots was totally worth it, because Wesley inspired you to greatness.
Thank you for your work in the sciences, and thank you for sharing with me my part of your journey.
