I wrote this story in grade five (circa 1989/1990), and it still makes me grin because it was the first story that really made me want to be a writer. I wish the grade five me had written a book because the me now has had her imagination sheared away by adulting. But I haven’t given up. I’d love to hear about the stories you wrote as a kid. I love it when they’re so bad, they’re good. Post in comments.

This illustration was part of the assignment. It makes me laugh how I used the heck out of a ruler to make up for my lack of artistic talent.

     This story takes place in 1959. I was 17. When I got out of high-school, I wanted to train to be an astronaut. When I was in elementary grades, I was an A student when it came to space. I knew everything about the planets, solar system, stars, and to sum it up in one word, the galaxy.

      Later on I learned about spaceships, spacesuits, retro-rockets and the computers in spacecrafts. I dreamed of one day sitting in a rocket on a launch pad, and counting down to the lift-off.

    When I snapped out of the daze I was still in the Kennedy Space Centre. I went back to my home and went to school there. My interest in space never stopped.

     When I was out of high-school, I did what I said I would do. I studied to be an astronaut. By this time the year was 1961. Everyone said I couldn’t be an astronaut. They said I wouldn’t make it! How absurd for a girl to do that! My parents were behind me all the way.

     While I was thinking about this, I looked in the sky. The sun was there suspended in air. I wondered if there were aliens. It would be amazing if there were.

       The time came when a thing called space camp was on. Of course I wanted to go to it. Now at this space camp we got to go in a real rocket. But we wouldn’t lift-off. They split everyone up in groups. The people in my group were Casey, Andrew, Dustin, and I — Amanda. Our instructor’s name was Brandy.

       Then after a few weeks we got to go in the spacecraft. But, something went wrong, we started to lift-off! Soon we were in space! It was an amazing spectacle. Brandy, our instructor, looked worried. I looked at the oxygen meter, now I was worried. It hadn’t been filled. In two hours there would be no air. We would die!

     Meanwhile at the lift-off area everyone was in a panic. They knew we only had two hours left of air. Captain Singer, Brandy’s husband, said, “I hope she remembers the oxygen tanks in the satellite project. If only the radio worked.”

     At the same time above them we landed right on the moon. I was the first to step on it! The moon! It was all too good to be true.

     Then Brandy remembered something. She said, “There’s an oxygen supply at the satellite project!”

      We got in the spacecraft. Only forty-five minutes till we’re out of air!

      We made it to the satellite. The oxygen was there! We had enough to last a long time. We landed and were safe.

     But it was a pity. This Crusade was not recorded. The government might get a bad reputation. So everyone who was involved had to keep quiet. Yes, I’m forty-eight now and can remember this as if it were yesterday. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t recorded as the first girl to step on the moon, but I didn’t care about that, my dream came true and that is all that matters to me.