Seeing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set their feet on another heavenly body and playfully bound around was awe inspiring in this young girls eyes.
The sign on my teachers wall read "Hitch Your Wagon to a Star" and from my perspective the moon landing was proof that man could touch the Heavens.
It never occurred to me that if I worked hard, there wasn't anything I couldn't accomplish if I set my sights on it. One small step at a time, I would get there. I grew up with the space program as my inspiration. Yes, there were failures and setbacks, but they didn't back down from the President's challenge.
And that night when Dad and I walked outside and gazed upon the moon knowing that there were humans standing there, we understood that there is no amount of effort too daunting or overwhelming in our own life if the great expanse of space could be conquered to safely put men on the moon.
I've traveled a lot of miles since then, and accomplished a lot of goals. I still look to the stars for inspiration and marvel in the magnitude of it all. While it was my parents that gave me the tools I needed to travel life's road, I would like to thank Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin for challenging me to aim for the stars.
Ever since that night, the moon doesn't look so far away.
