When I was a kid, I wanted to go to space. I wanted to float around in zero gravity, eat astronaut food, go on space walks. I remember Jupiter was my favorite planet. It was just this giant spinning sphere of gas much much larger than the Earth. A mysterious red storm permanently tattooed on its surface. It amazed me.
When I grew older, I learned of more planets, bigger stars, red dwarfs, black holes, wormholes. I felt so small, so meek. I realized that I was just a speck of dust, floating on this tiny ball around this other giant ball of burning gas. It made me sad to be so small, but it gave me solace. Every time I felt melancholy, every time I screwed up, I looked up and realized how inconsequential my actions were.
As the space shuttle program comes to a close, I can't help but feel sad. It's the end of a tremendous era and defined a huge part of my life, but looking forward there is so much to be excited about. As long as the human race never stops dreaming, we will never stop exploring. Onwards to the red planet!
