My Introduction.

Hey, everyone! Thank you Marina for getting this up and running for us fans. Anyway, I’m Val and I’m from Long Island, New York. I‘ve always loved watching Marina in TNG as Deanna Troi. Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably already know this, but I relate so strongly to Troi’s character for a multitude of reasons. I even wrote an article about that, which I’m happy to share if anyone is interested. But basically, I‘ve never fit into ‘the norm’. Imagine being someone who’s mainly of Sicilian, and Greek-Cypriot descent, with a dash of Spanish/Hispanic and German, growing up in a small conservative Irish-Catholic community in the US. Add on top of that being highly emotional/sensitive to others and to the world at large. Basically, it was a recipe for constant bullying and harassment. As a child, I felt alone in the world; that there was nobody out there who was like me. When I first started watching TNG, I immediately connected with Troi’s character and, despite her being a fictional character, I felt less alone in the world; I felt seen and represented. Long story short, I’ve been a fan of both Marina’s and Deanna Troi for a while now. I even have my own Marina fansite and a role-play “Life Advice from Counselor Troi” account on Twitter (let’s see how much longer that lasts). Anyway, I’m so excited to be here and (re)connect with other fans of Marina!