Today is International Women’s Day, so let’s talk about one of my favourite: Sally Ride.
Sally inspired me when I was a kid. Not only was she a physicist (my favourite of all the sciences), she was a freaking astronaut! She was the youngest American astronaut in space, and even helped develop the space shuttles Canadarm.
I think what I liked most about Sally Ride was the attitude she had towards herself. After being asked ridiculous questions at a pre-flight press conference (such as “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” Or “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?”), she insisted that she was one thing: an astronaut. No different than the others going with her. Seriously, if I was asked whether 100 tampons were enough for a seven day space flight, I’d probably clock the person asking. Sally Ride was a class act.
She helped girls all over the world to believe that they can do anything they want, even go into space.
So thank you, Sally, for being a kick ass woman who brushed off the stupid questions and let everybody know that you are amazing.
