He wanted to be an Astronaut
Thirty-two years ago, a baby boy was born. He couldn’t walk, talk, or see, but he wanted to. So he did. By five months old, he could see. By one year, he could walk. By a year and a half, he could talk. He wanted to, so he did. When the boy was five, he wanted to learn to ride a bike. So he did. After two months of falling, and scraping his knees and elbows, he finally was able to push off the ground and pedal a whole block without falling. He wanted to, so he did.
When he was in first grade, he watched a movie about space. He wanted to become an astronaut. So he started learning about the stars. “If you want to go to space, you have to know every star, ever,” he reasoned. He kept learning about the stars. He loved everything about them. While the other kids played on the playground, he curled up with his big old book and learned. When the other kids asked him to play, he would say, ”No thanks,” and keep on reading. Five years passed and he was in sixth grade. None of the girls wanted to be princesses anymore, and none of the boys wanted to go to space anymore. Except for him, that is. He could tell you every constellation, well five constellations, and he could name and spell all of the planets, except two of them. Every few days the teacher asked what the class wanted to be when they got older. “I want to be a lawyer!” One would yell. “I want to be a teacher!” Another would exclaim. “I want to be a doctor!” Yet another kid would scream. “I want to be an astronaut!” He would shout. But the whole room would get quiet. “Why don’t you aim for something a little more achievable,” the teacher would say. But the boy never stopped saying what he said because he wanted to be an astronaut, and so he would. Eleventh grade year, an amazing year. His classmates excelled in their chosen classes. They all had changed what they wanted to do. The lawyer wants to be a journalist, the teacher wants to be a veterinarian, and the doctor wants to go to the army. He still wants to be an astronaut. Every teacher from every grade, subject, and the school told him he shouldn’t. He always would say the same thing. “I want to, so I will.” Twelfth-grade year he applied for two colleges. Both, so he could become an astronaut. His teachers said no, his friends said no, and his parents said no, but he wanted to, so he did. Now, 32 years after being born, the boy is an astronaut. He can name every constellation, and point them all out too. He can name and spell every planet, and every comet, and every star. He has been to space 20 times, and when he isn’t in space, he does research for NASA and leads tour groups of children in observatories. So I guess if there is one thing you can learn, its that if you want something, do it. Because he wanted to, and he did.
