Amelia Earhart Journey Began in 1897

Imagine waking up every morning with the knowledge that you could change lives. Every step you take for yourself is a step taken in the name of equality and change. This is how our great female innovators felt at every stage of their inspiring lives, regardless of what they pursued. While they each may have pursued different fields of knowledge such as Rosalie Abella in law, Marie Curie in science, or Dorothy Vaughan in the field of mathematics; they all wished to attain one common goal. Rights, women's rights to be exact. They strived to redefine the labels attached to their gender and race. They fought to emerge from the narrow-minded expectations society placed on them to be what they truly wished to be. Among these famed women, Amelia Earhart undoubtedly lies among them. Earhart was not only commonly known as a the first female aviator who flew solo across the Atlantic ocean; but also for her approaches on the eradication of the barriers between the opportunities presented to men and women. The adventures of Amelia Earhart aided the battle for women's rights; as she encouraged women to achieve their fullest potential with her record-breaking feats. She opposed gender stereotypes by proving that women were just as good as men. She additionally promoted female aviators by starting the Ninety-Nines; allowing there to be successful impacts and advancements in modern society.

Earhart's journey began in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. Ever since she was a young girl, Earhart had both free will and spirit. Accompanied by her younger sister Pidge, she would dedicate long hours to explore her neighborhood, hunt rabbits, and climb trees. Her first taste of soaring in the air was in 1904, where she, with the help of her uncle, unknowingly recreated a ramp which had she admired during her trip to St. Louis. Using a cardboard box as a makeshift plane, she launched herself off into the air from the ramp. Despite the numerous amount of bruises she received, this flight unleashed feelings of exhilaration and excitement, which she knew she needed to revisit.The following years were full of obstacles for young Earhart including her father's alcoholism, loss of her grandmother, her parents losing all their money to a trust, working as a war nurse, and suffering from pneumonia and maxillary sinusitis.It can never be determined which moment will influence the path of our life. For Earhart, it wasn't until 1920, when she rediscovered her passion to fly in a ten-minute ride with Frank Hawks. After this old passion was rekindled within her, Earhart began to save up independently for her flight lessons. This was done by working multiple jobs as a photographer, stenographer, and truck driver. 1920s was an incredibly male-dominant time in history, where women had just got their right to vote. It was astonishing that Earhart being a woman successfully handled multiple jobs in order to save up money for something that she had a growing passion for without any assistance. With a strong growing desire to soar in the sky, Earhart went through rigorous training to attain the skills required for her dreams to come true.

Two years later, she bought her first sister and began her record-breaking journey. Earhart enthralled the audience with her determination and world breaking records. She flew her sister a 14,000 ft of altitude allowing her to break the world record for women. She then went on to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic ocean, as well as the first woman to fly across the North American continent solo. Amelia Earhart’s aviation achievements during the 1920’s showed the world that women could surely fly. Women could finally get the chance to achieve the same that men could. Earhart showed that women, regardless of the partialism in the world, could undoubtedly fly. It all depends on our determination to break through the barriers that narrow mindedness has placed before us. Male domination has been, and still to this day is globally prevalent. This did not change the attitude and belief of Earhart. When working as an aviator, Earhart was surrounded by judgmental men. To show them, and the rest of society that she is no different than a man, she altered her appearance to reflect her tomboy tendencies. From an early age, she had her hair cut, and wore bloomers rather than a traditional frock worn by girls. Despite her grandmother's disapproval, and being different than all the other girls her age, she continued with her ways. Years later, when Earhart joined the aviation training, she wore worn-out leather jackets, pants, and kept her hair cut short.

Unintentionally, Earhart broke barriers and helped to blur the line between men and women. She defied the rules set by society and showed an alternate way of living to women all over the world. She played baseball, joined mechanic classes and was very active outdoors. With this, Earhart proved that a woman is not limited to only the kitchen and house chores, rather there is so much that a woman can achieve with the right mindset. Amelia Earhart did not only want to limit her accomplishments to her own career, rather she wanted to use her platform and fame to endorse aviation. She accepted the position in Cosmopolitan magazine and used this to publicly encourage aviation and the female minorities within the field. In 1929 Earhart created an organization aimed towards promoting advancement in the field of aviation aimed towards women. The goal of the organization was to allow women to excel in this field through education, scholarships and mutual support. In the year of 1931 Amelia Earhart was the first elected president of the Ninety Nine Organization. This organization showed how much Earhart truly believed in women, and wanted them to succeed in the field that they have pursued. She not only wanted break barriers for herself but for all women with a passion to soar; whether it be in the sky or in their career. While achieving many things in her despairingly short lifetime, Amelia Earhart's greatest achievement was undoubtedly her defiance to the gendered limitations in her era.

While displaying her outstanding ability in navigating the globe, she all the while flew over the narrow-minded limitations set by misogynists. The adventures of Amelia Earhart aided the battle for women's rights; as she encouraged women to achieve their fullest potential with her record-breaking feats. She opposed gender stereotypes by proving that women were just as good as men. She additionally promoted female aviators by starting the Ninety-Nines; allowing there to be successful impacts and advancements in modern society. She was never one to drag women down, rather she pulled them up with her as their success was her success.