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Before You Read: Extraordinary Journeys

The most extraordinary journeys are often made by people who pursue their dreams against great odds. Think about your dreams for the future. What do you think you would need to do to make those dreams come true? In a chart like the one below, list some of the goals you would most like to accomplish in your lifetime. Your list may include a skill you'd like to learn, a trip you'd like to take, or a career you'd like to have. Share your list with a friend. Then discuss what you would need to do to make each of those dreams a reality. Record this information in your chart. Afterward, click here to read about several people who, while following their dreams, went on some amazing journeys.

My Future Goals	What I Need to Do to Accomplish Them
learn to speak Japanese	take classes in school or at a local community center
travel to Japan	save my allowance; read about places to go in Japan; talk to a travel agent
become a veterinarian	work hard in science classes

Following Their Dreams

• Amelia Earhart overcame societal stereotypes about women to become a world-record-breaking pilot. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She later became the first person to fly from Hawaii to California. In 1937, she began what was to have been the first round-the-world flight. However, she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. To this day, no one knows for certain what became of them.
• In June 1992, fifty-seven-year-old Bill Pinkney became the first African American to sail around the world alone. On his ship Commitment, Pinkney battled engine problems, hurricanes, lightning storms, and other difficulties to complete his twenty-two-month, 32,000-mile voyage. Pinkney has this to say about following your dreams: "Whatever you want to do, begin it, because action has power, spirit, and magic in it."
• Several years ago, while mountain climbing in California's John Muir Wilderness, Mark Wellman fell 100 feet and permanently lost the use of his legs. Despite his injury, Wellman has continued to climb. In 1989 he ascended the 3,000-foot face of Yosemite's El Capitan with the help of his partner, Mike Corbett. Two years later, the two men climbed Yosemite's Half Dome. Along with mountain climbing, Mark enjoys kayaking and skiing. In fact, in 1993 he became the first paraplegic to sit-ski across the Sierra Nevada mountains using only his arms.

Next you will read about a twelve-year-old girl who makes an important discovery on a river-rafting trip. Go to Shifting Currents.