There are a lot of ways one could feel inspired in astronomy, whether it’s from looking at a marvelous galaxy located millions or even billions of light years away, or landing a rover on another planet. One person really caught my attention and her name is Elsa Shiju. She is quite an amazing person and just an overall humble and intelligent person.
I’m going to list 3 reasons why I think you should know the future Mars-walker Elsa Shiju.
1. Elsa said she has always wanted to be an astronaut since she was 3, which is amazing someone wanted to dream big at such an early age.
2. Elsa Not Only Wants to Become an Astronaut but Gives Motivational Speeches to Children. You can imagine as a growing kid who aspires to be an astronaut your life gets pretty busy with training and staying on top of your education. Elsa takes it a step further and also gives motivational speeches to children to let them know they can be anything they want. Not only just that, she said “Pick a subject you are really interested in school and stick with it and do really well. Then find a career that aligns with your interest and then go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Just focus on what you love and your goals and you’ll be able to do it.” It’s quite inspiring to hear a 13 year old girl say that. Even some adults may not even give that advice to the youths. It takes a certain level of maturity and character to say such a thing and be active about it.
3. Space Flight is very risky. You have to take to serious or you would die. Elsa is willing to take that sacrifice for her dream. These are some inspiring words from Elsa: “The current space industries plans to have a return mission, but if they didn’t come back I would still want to be a part of the mission,“ she said. “It’s so important to get people to realize we can explore further. It’s bigger than myself and the sacrifices I would have to make.”
I honestly cannot say enough how inspiring someone so young is so full of passion and so determined to become an astronaut. It fuels my own passion and makes me want to give it my all to give any support Elsa needs to make her dream come true.
Her passion for astronomy and the universe runs deep in her veins and I have no doubt that she has a bright future ahead of her. Elsa is also quite humble and has given inspirational speeches to schools to inspire her generation. Remember her name because you’ll surely hear it again, when she makes her first step on Mars!
