A Million Miles Away

            "A Million Miles Away" is a story based off of the real life of José M. Hernández, the first Mexican migrant worker to go to space. The book follows his journey from his childhood, working in the fields, never knowing how long he'd stay in one place, to his job as an engineer, eventually gaining the respect of his peers, and finally to space, having been hired by NASA after getting rejected 11 times before. Despite the many hardships in his way, and near impossible odds against him, he accomplished his dream 30 years in the making - he achieved flight beyond the Earth - showing that no matter how high your aspirations, nothing can stand in your way.

        He didn't do all this alone, though. When he was a young boy, José worked in the fields with his parents, siblings, cousin, and other family members, along side many others unrelated to him, but in the same situation. His family would often have to move for work, so he could never plant his roots and stay in one place - until his teacher had a talk with his parents. She explained to them that José, like a tree torn from the Earth and replanted over and over, would grow, but not very tall, and would never bear fruit, or prosper. So, his parents sacrificed the house they had been saving up to purchase, and instead used the money to finance José's education. And, ever since he saw the first moon landing at 7 years of age, he knew that he wanted to learn to become an astronaut.

        Now an adult, Hernández works as an engineer, still aspiring to become an astronaut. He gains the respect of his coworkers after finding a problem with a machine nobody else had, as well as the confidence to move on to bigger and better positions. He keeps sending letters to NASA in the hopes that he might get accepted into the space program, but each of his letters get rejected, and he starts to lose hope. When his wife, Adela, finds the letters, however, she gives him the push he needs to continue, because she believes in him. Eventually, after 12 letters, José is finally accepted, but like his parents, he and his wife need to make sacrifices for his dream to come to fruition. José spends many hours a day training to live in the conditions of space, meaning he can't be around as often to see his 5 kids. This also means that Adela has a lot more work on her hands, not being able to split it with José nearly as much. In the end, it's all worth it though - José is brought onto the spaceship Discovery, and becomes the first Mexican migrant worker in space on August 28th, 2009.

        To achieve your dreams, it'll take a lot of work, and sacrifices will have to be made. But as long as there are still people supporting you and cheering you on, you can do anything you set your mind to.