Most of us probably dreamed about becoming an astronaut when we were little. But how many of us actually became one, or are at least working toward it?
The advice "Always follow your dreams" is something that is typically easier said than done.
But still, this is the one piece of advice that Alyssa Carson wants to share with her peers. This 17-year-old girl from the US has become one of the candidates for NASA's 2033 project to go to Mars.
Carson has dreamed of going to Mars since she was only three years old. Watching an astronaut-themed cartoon and learning that humans have only been to the moon but not Mars, Carson decided that she wanted to be the first one to do so. Since then, she has worked hard toward this goal. Now 17, Carson is continuing with her space training while still taking on her high school work like a "normal" teenager, except that she studies all her subjects in four languages—English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
"I don't think there's anything specific that makes it easier for me or makes it something that others can't do," Carson said in an interview with Uproxx News. "I've just really focused myself on what I want to accomplish."
And Carson is willing to make sacrifices for her dream. She's fully aware of the danger of the mission and the possibility that she might never be able to come back. She also accepts the fact that she can't get married and start a family. But Carson believes that it's all worth it, summarizing her view with this ancient Greek proverb she once quoted? "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they'll never sit in."
So after all the hard work that Carson has done and all the sacrifices she's made, every — thing still boils down to the simple phrase, "follow your dreams". And while some people's dreams may sound out of this world, in Carson's case, they literally (毫不夸张地) are.
