Space is full of great wonders; it possesses things that we can’t even imagine down here on Earth. Unlike Earth, space expands without limit, never knowing when to stop expanding. And within this ever-expanding space, we humans live together in a place called ‘Earth’, or as we call it, ‘Home’. Down here on Earth, multiple combined efforts are being made all over the world to achieve a common goal: to explore space and to discover what lies beyond.
People often think that only professionals or trained astronauts can help achieve this common goal, when in reality anyone could help achieve this goal with enough effort and positivity. I also take part in this huge space industry by running a company called Vega Space. Vega Space or as I call it VS, is an aerospace company with the mission to develop advanced rocketry components to match the pace of advancement in the space-launch industry, with the ultimate goal of reaching the mesosphere (directly above the stratosphere).
In laymen’s term, I run a company that makes rockets and rocket components to match the pace of advancement of real rockets. If you’ve made it this far, you might be wondering why is this high school student making rockets? Well, to be honest, I don’t have a clear answer as to why I started this project.
However, I speculate that I was always fascinated by rockets, and since I knew how rockets worked, I ended up making model rockets to prove that I can make rockets. Making model rockets may sound easy, but it requires knowledge in complex fields such as chemistry, aerodynamics, physics, computer science, and mathematics and the list goes on. And because it involves so many fields that I’ve never been exposed to, it soon became clear to me why this wasn’t a one-man job.
People around me would often discourage me by saying that this was one of the stupidest ideas that they’ve ever heard from me and that this idea of mine was nothing but an absurd illusion. And I would tell them that, I do this for a valid reason and it partially has to do with my interest in rockets. But, I do it because rockets enable space exploration, which leads to the diffusion of innovation and the creation of new markets. This doesn’t mean that I’ve created all of the markets or diffused innovation. It simply means that I am part of a community, which empowers what future generations will be exposed to. And by getting my self into these unfamiliar topics and communities, I’m spreading their existences and their importance in our lives.
For instance, the Austrian President said that space technology plays a crucial role in such ventures as the detecting of natural disasters and estimating the devastating impacts of climate change. And countless scientists, influencers, and entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk have agreed upon the importance of space industry and technology. This is the reason why I take pride in my work and the company, but I also work with the hope that one day I could positively change the world and make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.
All of this ties into the concept of global citizenship and globalization. To clarify what a global citizen is, we could simply put it as someone who takes actions to make the world a better place, someone who respects the differences in cultures and people, and someone who takes responsibility for their actions.
Service-learning trips or helping others or even fighting for equality is an action to make the world a better place by helping the community with some of the supports we can provide them with. You’d be wrong to think that service-learning trips or helping out others serve no purpose. Those trips and helping out others are formative experiences that will end up shaping your future and making you into someone who could nurture respect for yourself and others.
Today, I encourage you to take out your pencil and paper and write down a few problems that you may have faced in your local community or as humans. And think about how you can be part of the community to create solutions to solve the problem. Expand on them, act on the solution you came up with, try other solutions if the first one doesn’t work. In the end, the fact that you’ve tried and made an attempt is what matters the most.
On that note, I’d like to recite a quote by Nelson Mandela to conclude my writing.
“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in our hands to make a difference.” — Nelson Mandela.
Here are some of my other attempts to make the world a better place: