Mae Jemison (Read Aloud)

♪♪ Hello! Today I'll be reading a book titled Mae Jemison. Written by Mary Ninh and pictures by Yulia Zalatova. Hi, I'm Mae Jemison. As a child, I dreamed of going into space. One, two, three, blast off! I loved all things science and was frustrated to see that there were no women astronauts when I was a girl. My parents encouraged me to chase my dreams. You can do anything you want, Mae. You just have to believe. But not everyone believed in me. Girls can't do that. Stop dreaming, Mae. I was good at dancing, too. I'd taken classes since I was eight years old and I was a cheerleader at high school. It was much easier to get support as a young woman wanting to be a dancer than it was as a young woman scientist. When I graduated from college, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I could go back to dancing or go to medical school. But what I really wanted was to fly to space. I'd been discouraged by so many people over the years about my dreams of flying to space, so I chose the safer route and trained as a doctor. Do you think women will ever fly to space? Only men fly to space. But I hadn't totally given up. I still study advanced engineering and science while working. What we find is that if you have a goal and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities. One day, the television was on and the news highlight was astronauts. But they weren't just any astronauts. There was a woman astronaut and a black astronaut. I almost fell out of my chair. I couldn't believe my eyes. Women and people of color could really do it. We can fly to space. I always knew it. Right there and then, my love and dreams were reignited. I summoned the courage to apply to NASA. And guess what? Out of 2,000 applicants, I was one of the 15 chosen. Hey, did you get my application? Yes, we did. You've been accepted, Mae. What? Thank you, thank you. I have worked very hard. But it also helped that I loved my work. I was soon selected for a space flight. The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me. Although I had almost been discouraged from trying, told again and again that I would fail, I kept working towards my dream. My courage and conviction had faltered at times, but my hard work paid off. And in the end, I was brave enough to chase my dreams. I became the first black woman to visit space. I showed myself in the world that women can be scientists too. Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world. It's your life. Go on and do all you can with it and make it the life you want to live. The end.