A Heroine That’s Out of this World!

I must state, although I am perfectly content with myself and who I am as a person, if I could be any female of notoriety for a day, I guess it would have to be Mae Jemison.

Who is Mae Jemison??

Mae Jemison became the first black woman to travel into space, by boarding the space shuttle Endeavor on September 12,1992.

Why Mae Jemison??

Graduating from Stanford University at the age of 19 (yes 19!), receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering, and then obtaining her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981 from Cornell Medical College…it is safe to say that Jemison is an exceptionally intelligent individual (a characteristic that I hold extremely high and valuable). I’ve always wished that I pursued a degree in science; however, I never really excelled in that area, so I dismissed the idea of earning a degree in science early in my academic career.

After earning her degree, Jemison then served in the Peace Corps, responsible for the health of the Peace Corps volunteers in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The idea of serving and working in the Peace Corps in itself is mind-boggling. To me, working in the Peace Corps equates to “Your life matters,” “You’ve made a contribution in this world.” The thought of it further fuels my desire to be remember in this life… I don’t ever want my life to be meaningless or without serving some greater purpose.

After returning from the Peace Corps, it was then that Jemison was finally accepted on her second application and served as a Mission Specialist on STS- 47 (Wikipedia, 2009).

According to Wikipedia, STS was a cooperative mission between Japan and the United States with 44 American and Japanese social scientists on hand. Jemison was the co-investigator for the bone cell research experiment that investigated how space flight causes changes in bone cell function, to gain a better since of why bones become substantially weaker during space flight. In total, Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, and 23 seconds in space (Wikipedia, 2009).

Personally, I’ve always wanted to go to space, but see the idea as unrealistic, being that I have no real skill or purpose for being a part of a space mission or working for NASA. I’m just being realistic. However, if I were Mae Jemison for a day…my dream of flying into space would come true. Not only would I own the title of being a doctor, or a volunteer for the Peace Corps…I’d also have the privilege to say that I was the first black woman to enter into space – a title that no man or woman could take away.

-Janae is a blogger for The Sorbate. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.

Cited Resources 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Jemison