Taking That First Step

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July 21^st, 1969: Beads of sweat trickle off apprehensive faces, watching a momentous event take flight in front of their very eyes. They are powerless to stop it now. Years of posing hypotheticals, millions of tests and dozens of setbacks have led to this one moment. And all of it could disappear in seconds. Everyone in that tense control room has spent whole lifetimes attempting to make this one dream possible. No-one thinks much about the date, but everyone knows of the momentous occasion these pioneers had created.

On the 21^st July, man had first stepped on the Moon. Neil Armstrong, the first person to do so, uttered these famous words:

“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

It reminds us that even the tiniest steps towards a lifelong goal, can be a greater achievement than what than we possibly ever imagined. It proves that, despite the odds, despite the setbacks life throws at us, we can, in time, reach for our own stars. All it requires is taking that first step into the great unknown.

Much like Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, I am taking my first step towards fulfilling a dream in this blog. Granted, I am not strapped up to a glorified engine which could explode if any one of a million things goes wrong. But, in some strange way, I relate to them.

Before the big day of ‘first publication’ on my blog, I have had weeks of sleepless nights, my mind spending hours in an uncontrollable spin thinking about what to say; what to do. Sometimes my brain would spontaneously combust with powerful phrases in the middle of the night. I would force myself to get out of bed to jot them down on whatever scraps of paper were on my table —knowing that they would disappear from memory the next day if they were not inked on A4 sheets.

Endless worry—I suppose that is the way of the writer!

Unlike those astronauts, I do not have years of experience in my chosen field (yet!). All I have is an addled brain, a pair of hands, and a desire to see my dream become a reality. But, what is my motivation to do so much? Humans are rarely motivated by one desire, and commonly these motivations remain hidden unless revealed by great introspection. In the next blog I will try and figure out why I want to do this, but—now—only one comes to mind.

I want my own Merritt Island, where I can launch my works (poetry, essays, reviews) into the great beyond, to see what flies, and what falls back to Earth. Hopefully, something might come of it; If not, at least I have the space to gaze at the things that I, at the very least, have created.

Hopefully, some of you stay to take these steps with me.

—Tom