Amelia Earhart: feminist
“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” Amelia Earhart was a revolutionist, daring to go where women were usually shamed from going. It was, and still partially is, a man’s world, but Amelia didn’t let that stop her from chasing her dreams. Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother didn’t want her around that, so most of her childhood was spent moving place to place, not growing very attached to anyone. Her father's inability to be the provider for the family led Amelia to become independent and not rely on someone else to "take care" of her. After graduating from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and seeing wounded soldiers returning from World War I, she volunteered as a nurse's aide for the Red Cross. Earhart came to know many of the wounded who were pilots. She developed a strong admiration for aviators, spending much of her free time watching the Royal Flying Corps practicing at the airfield nearby. In 1919, Earhart enrolled in medical studies at Columbia University, but after a year she dropped out to be with her reunited parents in California. At a Long Beach air show in 1920, Amelia Earhart took a plane ride that transformed her life. It was only 10 minutes, but when she landed she knew she had to learn to fly. Working at a variety of jobs, from photographer to truck driver, she earned enough money to take flying lessons and in the summer of 1921 she bought a bright yellow second-hand plane and used it to set her first women's record by rising to an altitude of 14,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, she became the 16th woman to be issued a pilot's license. After Charles Lindberg’s solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927, interest grew for a woman to fly across the Atlantic and Amelia was contacted to be that woman. She got to…as a passenger. The wisdom at the time was