For The Past Year, I've Been Pretending To Be Darth Vader

Hi, my name is Devin Kelly, and I recently revealed a dark secret to my family, friends and extended Facebook acquaintances: I am Darth Vader.

For the past year, I have been donning a Darth Vader mask and taking photos of "the Vader man" in all sorts of situations. Packing for a move, being unemployed, looking for a job, taking a bubble bath. It started entirely on a whim; my wife and I bought a Darth Vader mask in a thrift shop and took a few funny pictures with it and posted them to Instagram. Immediately, we saw how ridiculous my lanky, affable and always positive version of Darth Vader was and began imagining all of the hilarious situations that we could put him in. We got an overwhelmingly positive response to our project on Instagram, so we got buckled down for the long haul and brought the Vader mask with us wherever we went.

What I didn't realize at the time this began was that this photo project was going to be something of an autobiography - in essence, it chronicled the chapters of my life this past year (quitting my job, moving cross-country, being unemployed, finding my direction in a new career and a new place) but portrayed through the lens of this born-again good guy, "the Vader man".

Ultimately, this project was created to be a positive outlet that could give people something bizarre to laugh at and share with friends. It has worked out that way so far, and we plan to continue with it so long as it is accomplishing that goal. May the Force be with you!

More info: avaderaday.com