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Hey, kid. You’re entering the most transformative stage of your life. Take some advice from someone who’s been there before: college is all about discovery. It’s the perfect time to discover what actually happened to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Have an open mind and be willing to befriend different people. Everyone comes into college with different experiences and never again in your life will you be exposed to such a diverse group of people. That’s why it’s so important to strike up conversations with anyone and everyone; with such diversity, you can cast a huge net with your investigation and chances are someone will know something about Earhart’s disappearance.
Get involved. This opportunity to experiment with different hobbies and take up new skills is so unique. Join a club sport to stay in good enough shape to chase any lead. The newspaper to learn how to publicize any breakthroughs you get on the case. A capella because Amelia loved a capella music.
Your grades are important but don’t spend all your time in the library. Sure, there are a bunch of different books that can clue you into Earhart’s history and launch your search. But the best thing to do is to get out there and start pursuing her. You know, a real boots-on-the-ground approach. This is something you’ll figure out early on: you’ll learn more from the experiences you’ll have outside the classroom than you do from the ones inside.
This journey will allow you to learn so much about yourself. For example: how you’ll react in highly stressful situations like when you’re questioning those who last saw Earhart at Lae Airfield just hours before her last radio transmission. Or how you’ll function as the leader of a team like the one you’ll deploy across the Pacific searching for her.
Throughout this process, you have to believe in yourself and all that you’re capable of. Don’t be afraid to take risks. You’re going to find yourself in some pretty impressive company but you can’t be intimidated by your peers. Some of the old timers will say she’s lost forever, but don’t let them get you down. You need to furiously pursue answers.
So no matter where the next four years takes you, just know that leaving college without having found Amelia Earhart’s place in the world would be a travesty.
