Amelia Earhart

Hello there. My name is Amelia Earhart, and I want to tell you about my life, which was one great, big adventure. I was born way back in 1897 in a town called Atchison, Kansas. Growing up, my younger sister Muriel, who I nicknamed Pidge, was my best friend and partner in all sorts of exciting schemes. We didn't like sitting still and playing with dolls. Instead, we climbed trees, hunted for rats with my rifle, and collected worms and moths. One of our biggest projects was building our very own roller coaster in our backyard. We nailed wooden planks to the side of our tool shed and used a little cart with roller-skate wheels to zoom down. On my first ride, I crashed at the bottom, tearing my dress and bruising my lip, but I jumped up feeling thrilled. I loved doing things that people said were only 'for boys.' When I was about ten years old, my dad took me to the Iowa State Fair, and I saw an airplane for the very first time. It was a rickety thing made of wood and wire, and honestly, I wasn't very impressed. I thought it looked flimsy and uninteresting, so I just walked away, eager to find the next ride.

My feelings about airplanes changed completely a few years later. During World War I, when I was about twenty years old, I went to Toronto, Canada, to work as a nurse's aide. I helped care for pilots who had been wounded in the war. I spent hours listening to their incredible stories about flying high above the clouds, and a little seed of curiosity was planted in my heart. The real turning point came in 1920. I went with my father to an airshow in California. We were watching the stunt pilots perform amazing tricks when one of them saw us standing alone in a field. He decided to have a little fun and dove his plane right at me. My father got scared and tried to pull me away, but I stood my ground. As the plane roared just over my head, I didn't feel fear. Instead, I felt a spark of excitement. A few days later, I paid a pilot named Frank Hawks ten dollars for my first ride in an airplane. The moment our wheels left the ground and we soared into the air, I knew. I just knew I had to learn how to fly.

Flying was my destiny, but it was also very expensive. I took on all sorts of jobs to save up the one thousand dollars I needed for lessons. I worked as a truck driver, a photographer, and a stenographer at a telephone company. It was hard work, but I never gave up on my dream. Finally, I saved enough money and began my lessons. Not long after, in 1922, I used my savings to buy my very own airplane. It was a second-hand biplane, and I painted it bright, sunny yellow. I called it 'The Canary.' In 1928, I was invited to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. It was a huge honor, but I wasn't the pilot. I was just a passenger, and I later said that I felt like a 'sack of potatoes' just being carried along for the ride. That feeling made me more determined than ever. I wanted to do it myself. So, in 1932, I climbed into my little red plane and took off from Canada, all alone. For nearly fifteen hours I flew through strong winds and icy storms. Finally, I saw land and brought my plane down safely in a pasture in Ireland. I had become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

After that flight, there was still one more great adventure I dreamed of completing: to be the first woman to fly all the way around the world. It was the ultimate challenge. For this incredible journey, I had a special new plane, a silver Lockheed Electra, and a skilled navigator named Fred Noonan to help me find my way. We took off in 1937 and flew for thousands and thousands of miles, crossing oceans and continents. We had completed most of our journey when we reached the vast, empty Pacific Ocean. Our next stop was a tiny little speck of land called Howland Island. It was going to be the hardest part of the trip. We sent radio messages, but the connection was poor. Then, somewhere over the ocean, the radio went silent. We never made it to Howland Island. No one ever saw me, Fred, or my plane again. It is a mystery what happened to us, but it was the end of my journey. Even though my final adventure ended unexpectedly, I hope my story inspires you. Please, be brave. Follow your own adventures, explore the world with curiosity, and never, ever let fear hold you back from chasing your dreams across your own sky.