“My son is already giving me lists of what he wants for Christmas,” Shannon, a single mother, told me. “I don’t even know if I’ll still have my job come Christmas. I can’t be thinking about who’s going to be President next year. I got other worries right now.”

I was a single mom, too, so I know first-hand the struggles Shannon and other single moms face every day. But I did not have to contend with the pressure of Christmas in October, and I did not live in fear of losing my job during a bad economy when chances of getting another job would be next to none.

Shannon’s comments are typical of what I hear from many people I have talked to in my community. They are tired and worried, and they feel defeated and frustrated. Any “extra” energy they have after all their daily and weekly responsibilities are satisfied is NOT going to be used to support a campaign for an election that’s more than a year away. I know how that feels! There are times when I wonder if I’ll have the inner resources to help. So far, I’ve been able to dredge it up from my inner reserves. Why do I push myself? Because I know what is at stake for Shannon, for our communities and our country; I know what is at stake for me and for you. I know that our history of providing opportunity and support for all Americans is at stake and I know that I – we – have to fight with everything we have to make sure our citizens have every possible opportunity to achieve the “American Dream.”

Maybe you feel like you have so much going on that you can’t begin to think about who’s going to be elected President in 2012. But, the fact of the matter is that President Obama is the President of the United States TODAY and will continue to be President until at least January 2013. And OUR President needs our help RIGHT NOW to overcome the obstructions created by Republican members of congress. President Obama wants to champion for the single moms, for the working poor and the middle class, but the GOP keeps holding OUR Country hostage by blocking every attempt get legislation passed that would benefit the majority of people living in the United States of America.

We are at an important pivotal place in our Country’s history and whether you are a single mom or not, what is going on right now in our political system affects you today and will continue to affect you for years to come. But you can do something to help protect your personal interests: You can get involved by volunteering for one of your local candidates or for President Obama’s team. And don’t say you don’t have the time. You can do as much or as little as your schedule allows. If you have two hours, you can make phone calls to people in your community. Or you can help sign in people at an campaign event (and have some fun in the bargain!). We as individuals need to understand what is at stack not only for our country but for ourselves. We can no longer afford not to think about it. I’m in. How about you? Our democracy depends on you. Will you get involved?

(Fight scene of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, image from Google Search) 

Life is ……..

1. A journey to this world

A journey has a start and an end, so does life. From the date we are born, our journey starts. Longevity is possible, but nobody can escape from Death. Everyone is subjected to the natural law, universal law and laws of social development. We have to grow from a toddler to a child, a teen to an adult then, and finally an elder. Out of the different laws, we are free to develop and stretch ourselves, but there are many unknown difficulties that always surprise and exhaust us.

How to have a happy journey becomes a critical issue that needs our full attention to deal with. See beautiful things, meet nice people and be productive……. In other words, we have to plan, act and adjust for our life continuously. Great effort, with no guarantee of reward, is required to obtain happiness. We all have an exciting journey, but the degree of joy depends on how well we overcome the hardships throughout.

2. Battles between no choice and with choices

Once our life started, we encounter a lot of “no choice” and “with choices” circumstances. A typical example for “no choice” condition is our coming to this world. “With choices” situations can be study or work, what to study and the career path to be built, etc. We enjoy or suffer from the consequences. Everyone is battling for a better position, to have more choices and always yield the best in life.

The battles in life are inevitable and continuous, and yet essential to one’s happiness. We are actually a life warrior. Be prepared to win and lose over and over again. Fear won’t help at all. All these years, I know that whenever I have been defeated, take a good rest to heal up and start all over again.

3. A movie that we act and direct

Life is like a movie. We are the protagonist. Very often there are other characters in our life movie. All acquaintances are parts of the setting. We have to decide on what kind of protagonist we would like to be, make appropriate decisions and take actions accordingly to bring forth the desirable performance.

Act according to one’s heart requires the minimum effort, but the outcome may not be satisfactory enough. Some people adjust their acting time after time. The directing job is also crucial if we would like to have more controls over what to happen and the result. Life movie is a little bit tricky because there are no take two sometimes. Hence, we have to be wise and don’t try any risky plots. I always tell myself to play safe and hopefully I will be able to replay the scenes many times in my mind with minimum regrets.

4. Struggles between fullness and void

Once life started, we start confronting Nature, people, animals, plants and a lot of other things. Everyone seems to be rich, but sooner or later we will notice that losing is also unavoidable. Life becomes many struggles between fullness and void. We have to find ways to secure all the good things and avoid them being devoured by the bad ones.

Some people will argue that once we die, void is the result and so what’s the point of striving so hard to obtain fullness. Whenever this thought hits my head, I like to remind myself living at the moment. Fullness is a relative and subjective concept, and it is difficult to measure. It is better to expel unnecessary pressure by simply trying our best to get whatever we can and enjoy the most out of it. To live is to struggle and see how much one can enjoy in the transient life.

It is normal to get frustrated and question life. As mentioned before, there is no model answer to what life means to a person. Let’s hope everyone can figure out her own answer, appreciate one’s own existence and enjoy every moment in life. If you have any other beliefs, welcome to leave a message and share with us.

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Other articles about life that you may be interested in reading:

You Need a Prison Break

Create and Count Your Blessings to Make Yourself Happy
 

     The struggles of living in the south are numerous. I find I am afraid to go to the corner store, Due to the multitudes of people hanging about, Half dressed, under ware hanging out. The voices of the many are loud and terrifying. The fear that rips through you when you pull up to a red light and you spot a half dressed male running in the direction of you vehicle. Children with high caliber handguns showing in the back of their pants.

     I wonder at what happened to humanity, this seems to be a world of animals. You have to look out of windows with bars that make you feel jailed in your own home; so what if they are decorative. This in itself adds the fearful question of will you make it out should the house catch fire. Will they kill my dog when I am gone too, for a T.V. or what not.

   I see the same town I was born in growing desolate of the charm I grew up with. I drive down the same streets I have all of my life; But it is no longer my home. A Zoo filled with wild animalistic behaviour. Wild, aggressive, dangerous situations ever where you look. I once saw a pregnant woman approached at a red light. shot in the head and pulled out of her vehicle, then left dead in the road. All for the animal that wanted her car.

   I am sure these problems are every where, but I cannot help but wonder, “Where are all the peaceful, considerate, friendly people of my home town. I find that I am now a minority, One of a dwindling number of my own race in the town I call home. I do not and will never understand the hostility I see on a daily basis, for the sins of our forefathers. The Fear to speak out at the reverse injustice will not be mine. The past is the past in my humble opinion. What I am speaking of is the present.

   This is a bigger problem than our elected and our civil servants will ever be able to get a handle on. The only hope I have for a better day is if pack up and move like everyone else. It is a sad feeling that the living conditions in my so loved home has become nearly unbearable.

   There will be more to come…

The character with the simplest dream is Lennie, George’s mentally handicapped companion.Lennies dream is to be able to “tend the rabbits” on the ranch, that George and Lennie will probably not get. Lennie is constantly breaking his own dream by getting into trouble, this putting the pairs employment at risk, and making Lennie’s dream further away. If Lennie was a normal guy, in the sense of his mental capabilities, then his dream would be perfectly reasonable to achieve. Lennie is not as mentally capable as his peers, so I believe, “…[he] won’t be able to tend the rabbits.”

Another character in Of Mice and Men who has broken dreams is Curley’s wife. Her character is of naivenature; the fact is she would believe something that is way too good to be true, much like her dreams. She was once told by some shady men that she would become famous, she believed the men. The only thing that was standing in the way of her dreams was her “uncaring mother.” Curley’s wife didn’t like her mother’s better judgement, so she ran away from home, and married Curley. She now lives a “lonely” married, farm girl, life.

The first character with a reasonable dream is Crooks, a socially isolated,African-American stable buck. Crooks has many dreams, one of them is friendship, being black makes this almost impossible for him, and so he is “nearly crazy with loneliness.” Crooks also longs for freedom and to work for himself. Crooks had these two dreams come alive when George and Lennie said they planned to get a “stake” and live there. Then Crooks faced the figures and realised that millions of men had that dream, only a handful ever get to live them. Crooks’s sudden realisation had broken his dream.

Another person who has had his dreams broken is Candy, an old crippled male, whose actions lead us to thinking he is worthless. This man’s dream is to be part of the stake that George intends to buy. Candy, in his head, knows that it is near impossible, but he knows anything is better than his current standard of life. Candy also has some fears, because he has only got one hand, he is afraid of not being needed as he “aint much good with one hand”. The fact he is a cripple stands in the way of his dream.

George is another character with something standing in the way of his dream, and that obstacle is Lennie. George has high spirits about getting his Stake, but during the course of the novel, his aspirations are torn, piece by piece, by the mess that Lennie causes. Dreams seem impossible with Lennie ruining everything good that has come to George. George is burdened by Lennie and the trouble that follows closely behind. George’s life would be so much easier if he was alone.

The novel Of Mice and Men shows that every decision we make can decide whether our dream becomes reality or end up broken. George knew Lennie wouldn’t survive on his own, so he decided to let Lennie come with him. At the time that was a nice thing for George to do, but in the future, his dreams get smashed. Candy knowing he is cripple doubts himself and thinks that he will never fulfil his dreams, leaving him sad. The novel shows us that, decisions that we make now decide how our future will be, whether it be good or bad.

I just reached the age of twenty-two last month. As I take a break to see what good have I done in the past twenty-two years, I can see nothing much. I’ve finished college with the degree which I doubt would help me become the person I want to be. I’ve got a call center job, which is quite a job which I’m not really passionate about but I’m struggling to keep for money’s sake. I’ve got a love life which I can say, is also so much a struggle for me because of the complicated issues attached to it. Realizing all these, this big question now is popping up – am I to go on like this forever?

I know I can’t. I want a job I would really love doing. I want a fulfilling and happy relationship. I want all things to be not perfect, but at least can give me happiness. Am I not happy with my current life? I am and I am not. Yes, I am happy, but at the end of the day, when I look forward to the life ahead, my tongue will always get sour. I know I have to do something – break the ice, break the current trend, and make a big leap to that big change for success and happiness in the future. But this other question comes in – how?

Living from pay check to pay check is horrible. Some people have tried taking on jobs they thought they would never do. Living in poverty is some families are now living our now living on the  streets and eating out of dumpsters. It’s sad that our government would let this happen. I’m not happy about struggling but, I have faith that things will get better.

Not having much money can be a drag and it could cause numerous health problems. If there are legitimate ways for people to make extra cash than do what you have to do. Money can get you off the streets and put you in that comfortable home.

   Ummi heard the drool of the engine of the planes flying in and leaving the airport. She had half the mind to turn back to cradle her baby in her arms once more. But the thought of his future kept her from doing so. Her good for nothing, philandering husband, was not in the habit of supporting her and her baby. She must struggle through to make a life for herself and her only child. No doubt she would not be able to help herself without cooperation from her aging parents. Her parents were prepared to go all out to see that their only daughter’s wishes could be granted. Thus she couldn’t let them down by admitting defeat and giving up hope of being independent.

   As she walked the steps leading to the cabin of the plane, she wiped a tear as it flowed down her chiselled face, which was full once upon a time. Stress and a loveless life had robbed her off her youth and vitality. She hoped too that life in a foreign country would help her forget her miserable past and probably pave the way for better relations with friends who had encouraged her to take the giant step into the unknown.

   The flight to Malaysia from Indonesia was roughly 3 hours, but Ummi felt as if it were 3 days. At the Penang Airport, a group of her friends from her village in Jakarta were eagerly awaiting her arrival. All of them were well dressed and appeared happy and contented. She looked at her attire and compared it with theirs. She hoped that she too would be sharing the same benefits.

   The drive by taxi from the airport to the apartment where her friends lived was short but it was a drive with many hairpin bends. By the time they reached the destination, Ummi was feeling nauseated and uncomfortable. She had a quick wash, had a simple dinner and went to bed to the disappointment of her friends. 

   The next morning she woke up with a headache. Noone was around to even make her breakfast. She observed that the apartment was well furnished and clean. She also read a note scribbled on a piece of paper on the coffee table informing her that all her friends were at work and that they would be back late in the evening. In the meantime, she could grab whatever there was in the kitchen to feed herself. She was reluctant to raid the kitchen but her hunger pangs got the better of her and soon she was tucking away at some buns and bananas.

   The next day, the gullible and unsuspecting Ummi, followed her friends to their workplace. Her boss was a young man, who seemed to examine her through x-ray eyes. Ummi felt shy but she had to put on a brave front. The man asked casually if she was ready for work. She replied in the affirmative. He called her closer and put his arms around her. She was taken by surprise and tried pushing his arms away. He advised her not to resist because all her friends were in the same trade. How else could they afford such lovely clothes, good food and a comfortable apartment to live in?

   Ummi felt cheated. She felt that her friends had betrayed her trust. She had left her decent dwelling and home to come to a strange place only to fall into a trap. Who could she turn to for help? What is she going to tell her parents? How is she going to face her only child? Answers to those questions can only be given by those who share the same fate as Ummi.

Louise May Alcott b. Nov. 29, 1832 d. Mar. 6, 1888 (novelist)

Alcott received writing instruction when she was young from such credible authors and literary scholars such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker. Alcott didn’t realize that she would write under the assumed name of Flora Fairfield. She used this name to write her poetry, short stories and thrillers. She used her second pen name, A. M. Bernard, to write a piece for the Boston stages on her Civil War experiences. This is the piece of her writing that would turn her into a serious writer. Once she wrote and published Little Women, Alcott now had financial security. She had a demand for more books, so she kept writing novels and short stories for the rest of her life.

Margaret Bourke-White b. June 14, 1904 d. Aug. 27, 1971 (pioneer photojournalist)

Margaret Bourke-White first became interested in photography at a young age. After she graduated with a degree in 1927, she became the first female photojournalist to work Life magazine which began in 1935. She was also the first female photojournalist for Fortune magazine in 1929. She would develop many forms and techniques photography and would become the first Western photographer allowed in the Soviet Union.  In her early career, she would cover the social and political issues of the 30’s and 40’s. She was the only female photojournalist that the U.S. Army credited at becoming a female war correspondent. Later on in her life, Bourke-White would cover the Korean War which would give her some of her best photographs.

Mary Whitehouse b. June 13, 1910 d. Nov. 23, 2001 (activist)

Whitehouse is most notably known for her work on the ‘Clean up national TV’ campaign in the 1960s. She was appalled by what she saw on television over the dinnertime hour. She began the movement for the campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, where she spoke before a crowd of 2,000 people. Before long, Whitehouse gathered 500,000 signatures and began to make a difference. She began to be criticized by the media and receive hate mail. She didn’t let this stop her, however; in 1965, she founded the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association, which helped give her give her a push for legislative changes in television programming. She would continue advocating for this until her death at age 91 in 2001. 

Queen Elizabeth II b. Apr. 21, 1926 (royalty)

Queen Elizabeth was the first child born to Dutch and Dutchess of York, George and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in London, England. Her baptism took place in Buckingham Place where her father was king. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret received private educational training at home. She began to study law and constitutional history. At the age of 14, she would begin her volunteer work, making a radio broadcast to all the children in Britian. At age 21, she received the change to go with her parents and her overseas for the first time to South Africa. In 1947, she wed Phillip Mountbatten and had fur children: Prince Charles, the next heir to the throne; Princess Anne, the Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, the Duke of York; and Prince Edward. In 1952, she received news that her father had died and now she was Queen Elizabeth II.

Maya Angelou b. Apr. 4, 1928 (author, activist)

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and she was sent to Arkansas to live with her grandmother. Angelou is best known for her poems and novels, but little know she is also a singer and actress. In fact, Angelou is also an activist for African-American rights. Her time spent as an editor on “African Review” helped her take her writing more seriously. In the 1960s she joined the Harlem Writers Guild and became interested in black activism. She had a son, Guy, whom she had only at the tender age of 16. By this time she had toured Europe and Africa. In 1970, she would write “I know why the caged bird sings,” probably one of my favorite books by her–and what helped me inspire to become a writer. She read a poem, “In the pulse of the morning” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She has mastered such languages as French, Spanish, Italian an Arabic. Angelou has been a professor of American studies since 1981, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Billie Jean King b. Nov. 22, 1943 (athlete)

Billie Jean learned how to play tennis at home. She would fight on the court for equal prize money for men and women. In 1971, she would become the first woman to win $100,000. In 1987, she was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She also campaigned for better pay and recognition of women tennis players. In 2007, she would launch ’Green Slam,’ which was a program to make tennis more environmentally friendly. She is one of Time’s most influential people of the year.

Anne Frank: b. Jan. 12, 1929 d. Feb. 1945 (author)

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Her writing took us into War World II, even 60 years later. She was born in January 1929 and not long after, in 1933, her family had to flee to the Netherlands. The Germans were starting to starting to form under Hitler, which in 1942 led Otto Frank to take his family into hiding. He refused to take his family into a work or prison camp.  Anne describes everything about the annex to us, even to the smallest detail about the creak of the floor. It was sad how they couldn’t live without making a sound for two agonizing years. In 1944, the family is split up as secret police invade the annex. The family goes in 3 different directions — Holland, Poland and Germany. Otto Frank is the solo survivor of his family, and publishes his daughter’s writings for the world to see. I always think “what could’ve been” when I read her diary or biography. She had a great life ahead of her, and it’s an injustice that it got cut short. She died, at 15, of typhus in a German concentration camp.

Oprah Winfrey b. January 29, 1954 (talk show host)

Oprah Winfrey, who works and lives in Chicago, is most notably known for her talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She’s originally from the south, born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. However, many don’t realize that in 1971 this rising-star, only 23, left Mississippi for her new home in Nashville, Tennessee. Here she would study radio and broadcasting at Tennessee State University. In 1976, her sites were set on Baltimore as her new TV chat show, “People are Talking,” began. This successful show lasted 8 years until Oprah wanted to move to Chicago to start a new venture — a new show called “A.M. Chicago.” It didn’t take long until 1986 when she first premiered her show she has today, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She’s considered to be one of the most powerful and wealthy people living in America, and in my opinion, one of the most inspirational. An advocate for children’s rights, Oprah has submitted bills to Congress and gotten them approved. She has even won the Bob Hope award. 

Caroline Kennedy b. Nov. 27, 1957 (politician)

Caroline Kennedy — the famous daughter of J.F.K. and Jackie Kennedy, and now, the only survivor of her immediate family, was born in New York City. As a little girl, it’s said she would walk her dad to the oval office. After earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1979, she began to work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, she also focused on non-profit organizations, such as becoming president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. In 1989, she graduated from Columbia Law School and began practicing on her own. In 1999, Caroline lost her brother to a plane accident off of Martha’s Vineyard. In 2000, she picked up an offer she’s kept turning down. She agreed to join the Democratic Convention.

Paula Abdul b. June 19, 1962 (celebrity)

Paula Abdul has loved to dance since she was eight years old. It’s not surprising when she went to a summer camp at age 15 and appeared in Junior High School, a musical, with several of her friends. She went on to study Communications at California State University, but became one of the girls chosen as a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader. In fact, it only took a few months of being on the team before Abdul was chosen as the team’s chief choreographer. Six months later, she would leave SCU without graduating to focus on her dancing career. She would later go on to work on the Jackson 5’s Victory Tour. She’s inspired many young talents on American Idol after developing her own musical career. While she’s no longer on Idol, she’s still on Twitter and in Los Angeles.

Susan B. Anthony b. Feb. 15, 1820 d. March 13, 1906 (women’s rights activist)

Born in Adams, Mass., Susan B. Anthony believed in women’s rights and women’s equality to men. This view may have helped to be shaped by her father who strongly believed in the equal rights of men and women. In fact, she, her three sisters, and two brothers all attended a private boarding school in Philadelphia to give them a proper, formal education. Her parents worked for the temperance and the anti-slavery movement which may have encouraged Susan to get involved in the activist life. In 1869, she formed the women’s suffrage association, and would work for this association for the next 50 years. She was the first person arrested and fined for voting on November 5, 1872. It would be with Anthony’s help that the 19th amendment, which gives women the right to vote, would be passed after her death. Anthony worked on this non-violent protest for 72 years, and has proven to won the respect of all women for it. She died in her home in Rochester, NY of the flu and of heart failure. 

Florence Nightingale b. May 12, 1820 d. Aug. 13, 1910 (feminist) 

Florence Nightingale was named after the city of her birth. She was born to a wealthy landowner who tutored her in the languages, mathematics and history. She desired an active social life and one that would allow her to serve society and God. In 1844, Nightingale made the decision to start working in hospitals. Her family was unsupported in her decision. The conditions of the hospitals were terrible, and nurses were also untrained. She received her parents permission to spend time at Kaiserworth, which was a German school to train nurses and teachers. After leaving this school, she went on in 1853 to become a superintendent of a London charity. The Institution for Sick Gentlewomen in Distressed Circumstances allowed Nightingale to conduct her ideas in a scientific, nonreligious setting. In 1854, Nightingale had an opportunity to organize a third-party consisting of eight nurses. They worked in the Crimean War which covered territory in France, Britain and Russia. The London Times helped her raise much needed supplies for the war. She died in London, England.

Elizabeth Blackwell b. Feb. 3, 1821 d. May 31, 1910 (doctor)

Elizabeth Blackwell, born in Bristol, England, and moved to the United States with her family when she was 11 years old. She received private tutors through her childhood, and her mother taught her music and literature. As she grew older, the practice of medicine began to intrigue her. Upon getting rejected from several medical schools for being a woman, Geneva Medical College in upstate New York accepted her in 1847. She became the first woman to graduate a medical school, and in 1960 she opened a medical school for women. Furthermore, in 1849, she graduated first of her class. This was after she faced criticism from her peers and the general public for her successes. She begin to see women and children in her home and would write medical lectures to inspire women to take up medicine. She died in Hastings, England. 

Clara Barton b. Dec. 25, 1821 d. Apr. 12, 1912 (founder of Red Cross)

Clara Barton was born to a middle-class family in North Oxford, Mass., the youngest of five children. While she will always be remembered as the founder of the American Red Cross, she had accomplished other great things in her lifetime. She was one of the first to establish a free public school in Bordentown, N.J. In 1861, she was living in Washington D.C. working for the U.S. Patent office. It was during this time she organized a relief team for the soldiers as they came back from war. Barton found out that the soldiers had suffered from lack of medical attention and advertised in a local newspaper for donations for the relief fund. It was after this that she began to independently distribute supplies. She went down to Virginia to work the Civil War battle lines to treat the soldiers.She founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and would remain president until 1904 when she retired. She died in Glen Echo, Maryland from the common cold.

Jane Addams b. Sept. 6, 1860 d. May 21, 1935 (founder of Hull House)

Jane Addams was born the eighth of nine children in Cederville, Illinois. She was a feminist and a social reformer who developed the Hull House in Chicago, IL. This was the first settlement house in the United States for the poor. Her father, whom was a senator and businessman, was friends with President Abraham Lincoln personally. While she battled health problems, she distracted herself by traveling. She went with a friend to London to see “Toynbee Hall” in London, which was an institution to help the poor. In 1889, Addams and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, opened the Hull House in Chicago. Its original intentions were to help the poor and the immigrants in the neighborhood, but it has taken off to include many other buildings. These include a wide range of social programs, a kitchen, childcare and educational services. However, she refused to slow down here. In 1910, she served as president as the National Conference of Social Work. She would also hold the president position for the Nation Federation of Settlements, and keep this position for twenty years. She became a chair for the women’s peace party, and in 1915 she would attend the International Congress of Women. Her work on the Women’s International League for Peace won her the Nobel Peace prize. She died of cancer in 1935, and her service was held at the Hull House.

Nellie Bly b. May 5, 1864 d. Jan. 27, 1922 (reporter)

The famous Nellie Bly – one of my biggest inspirations as a reporter. What I like best about her is that she stood up against change and gender roles. She was born Elizabeth Cochran in Apollo, Pennsylvania, one of fifteen children. She was 22 in 1885 when she composed a letter to the “Pittsburgh Dispatch” complaining they didn’t support women’s suffrage and women working outside the home. They responded to her witty attitude and assertiveness ahead of her time, and gave her a job offer. She began as a reporter covering social issues and wars, and went to Mexico to witness the tragic living conditions of the poor. She went to New York under cover in a mental institution to report on the inside conditions. What she is most famously known for is beating the 80-days around the globe record  by 8 days. In War World II, she was one of the few women reporters who got approved to go to war. She was the Eastern Front reporting and came back to retire in 1911. She died of the flu in New York. 

Helen Keller b. June 27, 1880 d. June 1, 1968 (activist for disabled)

Helen Keller is a source of inspiration for millions of people. She’s a southern native from Tuscumbia, Alabama whom was left blind and deaf at only 18 months old. Her father was a soldier for the confederate army, and he watched his only child develop normally. It was when she developed a brain congestion that she was robbed of two valuable senses. This led her to become a “wild child,”  and her parents found it hard to tame her. She would develop many of her own communication symbols to get her needs across to her family. After her mother spoke to Alexander Graham Bell, who was currently developing devices to aid the deaf, he suggested they move to Boston. In 1890, she began to take speech classes in Boston, and would later go to college at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. She’s lectured around the world and to Congress. In fact, she’s even aided blind soldiers. She was an advocate for the disabled, and she died being known as this.

Amelia Earhart b. July 24, 1887 d. Jan. 5, 1939 (female pilot)

Amelia Earhart, a female aviator who was born in Atchison, Kansas to a railroad worker, was inspired by her first plane ride in 1920. She would go on to become well-known aas one of the best female pilots of our time. In fact, it’s said that by 1928 she had become the first pilot ever to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, this would not be how she received her fame. Her solo flight to cross the equator would lead heto disappear and nobody has every determined what happened to her. The flight was to be done on the 5th anniversary of Charles Lindburg’s original flight over the Atlantic. Amelia and her co-pilot Fred Noonan left Miami on June 1, 1937 in route to Central and South America. They turned east and crossed the Indian Ocean, landing in Lae, New Guina on June 29, 1937. Almost 22,000 miles of their 31,000-mile flight had been covered, and they just had the Pacific Ocean to cover. The next stop was Howland Island, which was by Hawaii and Australia, and just over 2500 miles away. However, Amelia and her co-pilot would never arrive. They had left their short-wave radios back at New Guinia, which might have saved their lives, and they were over six miles of their destination. On July 3, 1937, at 7:30 a.m., Amelia reported her position to the radios, and 10 minutes later she reported gas was running low. At 8:40 a.m., contact was lost. Two other theories are that their ship sank or that they lived as castaways. Investigators have never really found out the real story.

Mother Teresa b. Aug. 26, 1910 d. Sept. 5, 1997 (missionary)

Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was born in Skopje, Macedonia. She was always called to do God’s work and knew it was right to become a missionary in order to spread God’s love. This is why, at age 18, she left her parents house to follow her calling. She joined Sisters of Loreto, which was an Irish group of nuns. They had missions in India, but first she had to spend a few months training in Dublin. After this, she was sent to India to take her vows as a nun on May 24, 1931. She would then become a teacher at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta, serving her from 1931 until 1948.  She was granted permission to work outside the convent with the poor and suffering and started an open-air school for the children living in the poorest of neighborhoods. Once volunteers started to help, the funds started to arrive. In 1950, she began “The Missions Of Charity,” which was to help the people that nobody else cared for or loved. She died from a weakened heart.

Rosa Parks b. Feb 4, 1913 d. Oct. 24, 2005 (civil rights activist)

The world will never forget Rosa Parks and what she did for the Civil Rights movement. She was born Rosa Louise Parks in Tiskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks entered the bus that was designated for white people in front and for black people in the back. Her feet were tired, and she sat down in the first few rows for coloreds. As the bus filled up, the sign got moved towards the back of the bus and Parks was asked to move. Upon refusal, she was arrested for not giving up her seat. She was just tired of giving in and being pushed around. She has been named one of the 20 most influential people of the 20th century, and has become an inspiration to many people. She died at the rightful age of 92 in Detroit after she was diagnosed with dementia.