Over one-hundred years ago, Wilbur and Orville Wright built the first plane that sparked the imagination of the whole country, including one little girl from Kansas, whose name was Amelia Earhart. Outgoing, cheerful, and committed, Amelia was loved all over the world because of her determination and heartfelt love for her craft: aviation. Amelia Earhart was a truly heroic woman, overcoming gender barriers, and standing up for what she knew was right. Her actions have inspired hundreds of people, and her work was truly a blessing to the aviation field.
Amelia was born to Edwin and Amy Earhart on July 24, 1827. She was born in Atchison, Kansas, were she lived with her grandparents until she was about 12, when her father (who had recently lost his job due to drinking problems) got a new job in Des Moines. After a somewhat tumultuous childhood, Amelia graduated in 1916. She attended a finishing school for a few years, and then went to a nursing school, thinking that she would one day become an army nurse. However, that dream was cut short when Amelia went to her first airshow. At this airshow, Amelia was allowed to ride in the plane. The thrill of flying (which must really be astonishing to someone who has never seen a commercial airplane or helicopter!) immediately convinced her that flying was her dream, and she set about to realize it. Amelia bought a Lockheed Electra (which she named The Canary) and began flying lessons with Neta Snook. 
So began Amelia's flying career that eventually made her famous. During her lifetime, Amelia was the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo, she set the women's altitude record of 14,000 feet, she set the women's record speed of 181 miles per hour, and she was the first woman to make a solo round-trip flight of the US. Though some of these things sound trivial in the light of today's accomplishments, they were huge milestones for pilots in the twentieth century. "Lady Lindy" as she was called, was universally respected and loved.
One cool March morning of 1937, Amelia and her copilot, Fred Noonan, set out to circumnavigate a flight around the world. Crowds cheered as they took off. However, they had only flown about two-thirds of the way before the unfortunate partners lost connection with local coast guards and, supposedly, crash landed into a pacific island. No one really knows what happened to Amelia, though, and her hapless death is a mystery to us all.
Amelia Earhart had a tough life. Her father was unable to support his family, and, as a result, she often had to step in and help out. She never had much money for flying lessons or her own plane. She had numerous trials and battles to fight in her life, but notwithstanding, she accomplished her dreams. Not only did Amelia perform some amazing aerial feats in her own age, she also overcame many boundaries that were setbacks in the day. Though today women can do anything that they want, in Amelia's time, gender prejudices and the fact that not much was known about flying greatly held some people back. She refused to let gender restriction rules confine her dreams, though. She refused to agree that some things just couldn't be done, gender restrictions set aside(she was the first person to fly solo). I think that the reason that Amelia succeeded is because she set her own goals. She chose not to listen to the negative voices surrounding her, and instead she just set her own personal goals, and achieved them. I think that this is a really crucial part of succeeding in anything that we want to do. If we set our own goals, not worrying about what other people will think of them, our chances of success will be higher, and we can spend more time enjoying our passion and doing the things that we love.
Amelia Earhart had a tough life. Her father was unable to support his family, and, as a result, she often had to step in and help out. She never had much money for flying lessons or her own plane. She had numerous trials and battles to fight in her life, but notwithstanding, she accomplished her dreams. Not only did Amelia perform some amazing aerial feats in her own age, she also overcame many boundaries that were setbacks in the day. Though today women can do anything that they want, in Amelia's time, gender prejudices and the fact that not much was known about flying greatly held some people back. She refused to let gender restriction rules confine her dreams, though. She refused to agree that some things just couldn't be done, gender restrictions set aside(she was the first person to fly solo). I think that the reason that Amelia succeeded is because she set her own goals. She chose not to listen to the negative voices surrounding her, and instead she just set her own personal goals, and achieved them. I think that this is a really crucial part of succeeding in anything that we want to do. If we set our own goals, not worrying about what other people will think of them, our chances of success will be higher, and we can spend more time enjoying our passion and doing the things that we love.
Some of my favorite quotes from Amelia Earhart:
"Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?"
"The most effective way to do it is to do it."
"Experiment!... By adventuring, you become accustomed to the unexpected. The unexpected then becomes what it really is- the inevitable."
"No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves."
No comments:
Post a Comment