#WhatIsNASAFor ? Helping My Daughter to Set Her Sights High!

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***This post was first published last summer, but I wanted to share it again

to answer the question #WhatIsNASAFor.

Speaking with an Engineer from Kennedy Space Center about the Orion capsule,
while over looking a model of the SLS.

There is something about childhood passions that can dig their roots in deep, and stay with us long into adulthood. Sometimes, it directs us to a path and professional field that pays homage to that passion; sometimes it grows into a stress relieving hobby, and sometimes, sadly, it just fades away into the background, being stirred up once in a while when triggered.

A few things stand out as vivid memories in my childhood. I remember drawing on the part of my wall hidden behind the door at around the age of three; at five, I remember getting my first camera (the blue Fisher Price indestructible one, that is now only searchable if you include the word “vintage”… ouch!); my first lunch box (Star Wars) and playing endlessly in the Ewok Village with the few figures that I had, and a few extras that my cousin Paul would let me borrow. And then there was the Shuttle program. I was six, old enough to remember, when our nation suffered the tragic loss of Challenger. The cost and danger of space exploration was never lost on me. It amazed me, even back then, the amount of courage and dedication that it took to become an astronaut, and it still does- to this day!

My daughter looking at Enterprise at the Intrepid Museum’s 2nd Annual #SpaceFest 2013

I’m also old enough to fully be aware of the struggle that women have had to earn their place as equals. I never once had thought of myself as a “feminist.” Something happened, though, that made me really take a good hard look at the thoughts and ideas that we as a society are imprinting upon our girls. That “something” was this: I found out that I was going to have a daughter. Suddenly, with this baby girl getting bigger and bigger every day, and an impending due date inching closer, I despised all things “girly” and pink. Okay, maybe despised is too strong of a word, but for every pink, frilly and delicate thing that was acquired by well meaning family members and friends, I made sure to balance it out with colorful, vibrant, bold and rugged! I requested to steer away from the overly done pink baby shower and registered for things that would allow for *her* to develop what she liked, not be primed into thinking that pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Building blocks, legos, race cars and trucks- they were right along side of the baby dolls, play food and fairy wings.

So… six years have passed since her arrival, and how is it working out? I couldn’t be prouder of my girl! Her favorite colors are orange and green, and she wants to be everything from an astronaut, to a librarian, to a fashion designer, to paleontologist, to an artist, to a veterinarian, and everything in between. Her room at the moment is scattered with princesses, ponies, rocket ships, dinosaurs and her brand new Astronaut poster that we hung last night. She is curious, and inquisitive about everything. Would I feel differently if she loved pink and was only interested in playing with dolls? Not at all! I just wanted to give her enough room to decide what SHE is passionate about!

Fantastic display from FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) about robotics
….although her favorite robot is still Curiosity.

As a parent, I know that it is extremely important for us to expand our children’s horizons because, unfortunately, we live in a world that likes to put everyone into tidy little boxes of what they should or should not be. Those childhood passions that I had as a kid? They didn’t line up very well with the idea of what it was to be a “girl.” They kind of fell by the wayside for years, until I was old enough to not really care what anyone thought about me liking Star Wars and Star Trek. (I now pause to publicly admit, for the first time ever, that yes… yes, I DID have a crush on Wil Wheaton.) I loved space and I dreamed of going to SpaceCamp as a kid. I got teary eyed at EVERY SINGLE Shuttle launch that I could watch on television- and don’t even get me going on what a weepy mess I was watching Atlantis launch from the press site at Kennedy Space Center for the last time! (Sending a great big THANK YOU to @NASASocial for making that incredible experience possible!)

Actually, in many ways, it was attending the NASATweetup STS-135, the last Shuttle launch, that really gave me the “go” for coming out of my spacetweep shell. Through them, I have rediscovered that passion of space exploration and have been awed by the work of these men and WOMEN.

I guess some of it must have rubbed off onto my kiddo, because now she watches spacewalks with me via NASA TV and can tell you who is currently aboard the ISS. She can also tell you, that only 12 people have ever stepped foot on the moon.

What she CAN’T understand is why there have only been men to walk on the moon- a topic that comes up regularly at our house. I take this as a sign of progress, though; she knows that women are just as capable and able as men. She has role models in every single field and profession that she looks up to- men and women alike! She doesn’t look at gender- she looks at the incredible work of the individual that is accomplished. (Though I do believe that Astronaut Sunita Williams inches out front as her favorite.)

Slightly star struck when she met a real astronaut for the first time.

I am always looking for ways to continue to support the things that she is passionate about; helping to build the confidence in her that with hard work and dedication, the possibilities are limitless. Yesterday presented such an opportunity; we spent the day at the Intrepid Museum’s Second Annual Space Fest. I can not encourage you enough to attend. Even if you don’t think your kids are interested- expand their horizon- heck- expand YOUR horizon by exposing yourselves to our past, current and future of space exploration. What you will find there, is a beautiful cross section of an important message behind it all- We are each unique, and yet we all live on this one, incredible, planet.

Let’s work together to inspire one another, to encourage one another and to learn from one another. You will meet incredible people of all ages and all backgrounds, and if you stop long enough to ask them what they are representing, you will see their eyes light up- you’ll see what they are passionate about. I let my daughter soak it up yesterday, and I tried to capture her experience for her to reflect upon when she’s met with discouraging remarks or difficult challenges in the future. Whatever she ultimately decides to pursue, I will love her just the same and be happy that she knows that not even the sky is limit any more.