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"Sometimes what seems like failure is actually an opportunity which should
be taken advantage of and then things sort of work out."
That's not the usual "achiever's success formula" that one would expect
from an astronaut. But it's the message Sunita Williams brought to young
people across India from September 20 to October 7.
As she traveled from Gujarat to Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai, Williams
was sometimes greeted like a rock star, royalty and a heroine all rolled
into one. Yet, her message to enthralled youngsters was down to earth: she
was not the brightest in her class, did not find college easy, was not
always sure of her direction in life and did not always get the jobs she
wanted.
But she made the best of whatever opportunities came her way. And here she
is now, in the history books as the woman who holds records for the
longest spaceflight, 195 days, and the most hours outside a spacecraft, 29
hours and 17 minutes.
Although she has had incredible experiences of floating in space and
viewing the earth and the stars from a perspective few have known,
Williams engaged her young audiences by reciting the small failures and
unexpected turns of her life. And she goaded them to "step out and try
something new."
She liked animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. Well, she has a pet dog
now, but no medical degree. She didn't want to cut her hair to join the
U.S. Naval Academy, but she was afraid to live in New York City, where she
had been accepted at Columbia University for veterinary studies. So, she
cut her hair. She had perfect eyesight and wanted to join the Navy diving
program. Whoops! Someone else did better on the tests. Only the top of the
class got to be jet pilots, so she learned to fly helicopters. What do you
know? Helicopter pilots were exactly what NASA was looking for by the time
she applied to be an astronaut.
And once she became a NASA flight engineer aboard Expeditions 14 and 15 to
the International Space Station, Williams, 42, said, it was
"tough…learning to live in space." Not easy.
Far from being a downer, Williams' message was inspirational, to the
over-achievers as well as the ordinary folks in her audiences. "Life is
going to give you a lot of opportunities. Don't turn your back on them,"
she said, looking into their bright, eager faces. "I want to see you on
the moon." - L.K.L.
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Courtesy: SPAN Magazine |
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