Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart (http://www.ellensplace.net/ae_celb.html)

Amelia Earhart was born July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. Amy Earhart, her mother, and Edwin Earhart, her father, traveled from their home in Kansas City to Amy’s mother’s house to give birth to Amelia. Amy had another daughter three years later and named her Muriel.

Amelia had her share of good and bad moments in her lifetime. As a young girl she was always ready for some sort of adventure. She loved teaching her friends how to ride a bike, and she enjoyed exploring random caves that she found. Her grandmother often didn’t like how “tomboyish” she acted. In 1908, her father took her and her sister Muriel to the Iowa State Fair, which is where Amelia saw her very first airplane. The plane wasn’t much to look at, so it didn’t make that much of an impact on young Amelia.

The year 1911 wasn’t that great for the Earhart family. Amelia Otis, Amelia’s grandmother, had passed away. Although that did leave them with a great deal of inheritance, Amelia didn’t trust her son-in-law Edwin because of his financial problems, so she made the money untouchable for 20 years-unless Edwin was to die before the 20 years were up. Edwin was furious. He was a drinker, and this news only made his drinking worse. No one would hire him, so he went off by himself for a while. Amy covered it up by explaining to her daughters that he was on a very long business trip. Edwin came back, with a job, in 1913. In 1914 they moved to Springfield, Illinois. Amy was sick of all the moving and the on and off jobs, so she left Edwin and brought the girls with her to Chicago to stay with some friends. Amelia graduated from high school in 1915 and after her parents reunited, they scraped up enough money to send both her and Muriel to the college that they wished to go to. Amelia attended Ogontz School in Philadelphia while Muriel attended St. Margaret’s in Toronto. It may seem like Amelia had a nearly perfect life, but things weren’t as great as they looked. However, out of those troubles came great accomplishments. For example, Amelia published a couple of books about some of her flying experiences, and in 1931 she married G.P Putnam. Unlike her parents, she had a healthy and happy marriage. One thing she is often known for is being the very first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight!

Amelia Earhart in full aviator clothing (http://www.ellensplace.net/ae_celb.html)

Amelia was a very strong, determined, and independent young woman. In 1920, Amelia took her very first plane ride. She said that once she and her pilot lifted off of the ground she knew she also had to learn how to fly. A couple years later, Amelia set an altitude record for women at 14,000 feet! The next year she received her pilot’s license. From then on she would be setting more records and flying would be Amelia’s main focus. I have admired Amelia Earhart for a very long time. I admire how dedicated she was to flying and no matter what happened she always got back up on her feet and didn’t care what anyone thought or said. I also admire how calm and happy she was most of the time. She made friends with almost everyone she met, and everyone loved being around her.

Amelia, on her attempt to fly around the world, suddenly went missing on July 3, 1937. She had just taken off from one of her last destinations before finishing her round the world trip, but her very last transmission was cut off…then nothing. Everyone was heartbroken and in a panic. People searched and searched, but Amelia Earhart was never found. Not even her plane. Her death was officially declared on January 1, 1939. One lesson I have learned from Amelia Earhart is that you should follow your heart and go after your dreams-and never give up. Life is short, you should live it to the fullest.