Day #9253 - Goodbye, Raggedy Man

Even though we've all known it's been coming for months, I'm still having a hard time fully wrapping my head around the fact that the day after tomorrow, Matt Smith's time as the Doctor will actually be over. He was my first Doctor, after all. The very first episode of Doctor Who I ever watched was The Eleventh Hour and I was immediately taken. How had I never heard of this before? How could I have ever dismissed science fiction and insisted it just wasn't for me?

Matt Smith, in a way, changed my life. Because of him and his portrayal of the Doctor, a dream of mine was able to come true.

This time last year, I was still grieving the departure of Amy and Rory. Like I said, I was new to the show so it was my first time dealing with saying goodbye to characters like this. At the same time, I was continuing to pursue my writing ambitions. I've been an aspiring novelist for a few years now, always practicing my craft and praying for my break. It came in the form of a short story contest: Lisa Burstein wrote a novel told through diary entries. Her challenge was to write the diary entry of a fictional character, pick finalists, let fans vote, and the winning story would be printed in the back of her novel. So I went back to The Eleventh Hour and there was Amy and the Doctor. I wrote a story about how much I'd love to travel through time and space with this amazing Time Lord, big chin and all. I entered it, forgot about it, and no one was more shocked than me when I found out I won. In March, a dream came true. I saw my name in print, in a book, for the first time. Something I'd written was out there for all to see.

All thanks to the Doctor. In the last few seasons, Matt Smith has had epic speeches and amazing adventures and wacky headwear and two hearts of gold. Through his portrayal of everyone's favorite alien, I learned how to look at humanity though a new lens. There is always hope and the choices aren't always easy, but in this Universe, no one is ever truly alone.

Last year, I welcomed Clara as the new companion with open arms. And over the years I've caught up on all the 'new Who' I'd missed, so I've seen how regeneration works before. I'm sure Peter Capaldi will do a great job and I really am excited to see what comes next for the show. But Matt Smith is my Doctor, and saying goodbye to my Raggedy Man will make this, in some ways, a TARDIS Blue Christmas.