“You can do anything you decide to do,” said Amelia Earhart.  She should know — this amazing woman did many different things, tried other careers, and held various jobs in her short life to accomplish her dreams! She is an inspiration to us all about being determined and persevering.

Amelia’s dream was to fly an airplane. She worked to earn money to buy her first plane, doing many different things such as nursing, being a mechanic, and taking care of children. Then she  overcame the challenge of finding a teacher and learned to fly.

Once she learned to fly, she changed her goal to doing tricks in airplanes. Then she decided her goal was to set records in her airplane. She was very ambitious in the records she wanted to accomplish.

Her first record was for the first woman to go so high in an airplane. She went 14,000 feet high. Another record she completed was in 1928 when she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. 

Other accomplishments and records she set include competing in the Women’s Air Derby. This was a flight from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio.

Out of the 19 pilots to complete the course, Amelia took third place. She helped start a woman’s pilot group called the Ninety-Nines. This group helped women pilots get jobs and keep careful records of women’s aviation achievements.

In the 1930s she helped start a public airline that traveled between New York, Philadelphia and Washington. In the summer of 1930, she set another record, this one for speed. She set the woman’s speed record of going 180 miles per hour! She also was the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean. 

The last record she wanted to set was to be the first woman pilot to fly around the globe. Plans were made, she had a route, she started it and successfully made it 22,000 miles — only 7,000 more to go. Unfortunately, on July 2, 1937, on her way to Howland Island, she lost communication with the USCGC Itasca which was at Howland Island to support the flight, and was never seen or heard from again. 

What an example of determination and perseverance to achieve your goals! As we celebrate Amelia Earhart Day on July 24, let us take a look at ourselves and determine what our goals are.

What can we do to achieve them? What steps can we take to make them a reality, and then put those plans into action?

Then we can share in Amelia’s spirit and join our voices with hers in saying, “You can do anything you decide to do.”

To learn more about the amazing story of Amelia Earhart or other adventurer’s visit your local library, linclib.org or the Libby app.