Neil Armstrong

Hello, my name is Neil. When I was a little boy, I loved to look up at the big blue sky. My favorite thing to watch was airplanes. They would zoom past like big silver birds. I dreamed that one day, I would get to fly in one. When I was six years old, my dad took me on my very first airplane ride. We went up, up, up into the clouds. I looked out the window and the houses below looked like tiny little toys. The cars looked like little bugs crawling on the ground. It was so exciting. I felt so happy and free, and I knew I wanted to fly forever.

When I grew up, my dream came true. I learned how to fly airplanes all by myself. I was a pilot. I flew bigger planes and faster planes, and it was so much fun. Then, I was given a very special job. I was going to be an astronaut. Do you know what an astronaut does? An astronaut gets to fly in a rocket ship. Not just in the sky, but all the way out into space where the stars twinkle and the moon glows. I had to practice and learn so much to be ready for my biggest adventure yet. I was excited but also a little bit nervous.

Then, the big day came. It was in the year 1969. My friends, Buzz and Michael, and I climbed into our giant rocket ship. It was called Apollo 11. With a big rumble and a roar, the rocket went WHOOSH. We blasted off into space. We traveled for a long, long time, past the shining stars. Finally, we made it to the Moon. I opened the door and was the very first person to step onto the Moon’s soft, dusty ground. It was so quiet. I said, “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” That just means that even a little step can be a very big and important start for everyone. After many more years of exploring and learning, I grew very old, and then my time on Earth was over. Always remember that even your smallest dreams can lead to the biggest adventures.