My name is Amelia Earhart. I was the first female pilot who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In my lifetime, I created world records, wrote books, and created opportunities for future female aviators to push the limits. Even though I am known for all the wonderful accomplishments I have made, I hope you would remember my courage most of all.

I was born on July 24th ,1897 in the beautiful city of Atchison, Kansas. I was born right inside of my grandparent's home too! I remember what it was like to wake up with my little sister and run out of the house to the great outdoors.

Although I loved the feel of branches under my legs as I climbed trees, catching frogs and insects, playing basketball and football; I found I loved the sight of the big, blue sky most of all.

When I was 20 years old, I went to a stunt-flying exhibit where I got to see men do acrobatics in the sky on top of airplanes! I remember my excitement as I saw the airplanes swish back and forth through the smoke from the engines. I watched as men risked their lives by flipping back and forth, hundreds of feet in the air. I was deeply afraid for the men in the show, but I was also in amazement at what I was witnessing in front of me.

I was so caught up in the show, that I did not notice a pilot descend towards me with his plane and swoop so close to me, that I screamed in shock and pleasure! Then all the sudden, I felt awakened. It was as if that little plane, as it swooshed by, told me that I was destined to be the aviator behind that wheel one day.

After the stunt flying exhibit, I knew I had to get inside a plane and into the air. My father and I searched where I could board a plane and found a place in Long Beach, California where you could purchase a ticket to be a passenger on a plane. On December 28th, 1920, I found myself handing over $10 for a ticket and was soon shaking hands with the famous pilot Mr. Frank Hawks.

As our plane began to ascend towards the clouds, I took a deep breath and mustered up all the courage I could and looked out into the stunning, blue sky. By the time I was a hundred feet into the air, I knew I had to fly. Even though the plane ride lasted 10 minutes, my life was changed forever and I decided to get a job to pay for flying lessons.

On January 3rd, 1921 I gathered up my courage and walked towards one of my idols, pilot Netta Snook and said, "I want to fly. Will you teach me?" Neta Snook agreed and I soon began my first flying lessons. I was so amazed that Neta Snook was teaching me how to fly! She was the first woman aviator in the state of Iowa and the first woman to be accepted into the Curtiss Flying School in Virginia.

Neta Snook was everything I wanted to become and the more we flew together the more we became great friends. At the beginning of my lessons, I made a couple of mistakes, like getting into a small crash on take off! However, the more I practiced the better I got at flying.

It had been eight years since my first flying lessons with Neta Snook. I had been practicing almost everyday and I was finally ready to take my first step to making history. Throughout the years I broke and made new flight records across the United States.

On June 17th, 1928, myself and two other co-pilots, Wilmer Shultz and Louis E. Gordon, flew across the Atlantic Ocean! I was the first woman to ever fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger! Even though I was a little disappointed to not be driving the plane, I was just excited to be a part of history.

We departed from Newfoundland in Canada and landed near Llanelli in Wales. Our flight lasted 20 hours, and when we landed and went back home, there was a ticker tape parade in New York City to celebrate what I had accomplished! Even the president at the time, President Calvin Coolidge, called me to tell me how proud he was of me!

After my experience flying across the Atlantic Ocean with my co-pilots, I decided that if I wanted to make history, I should fly solo. On May 20th, 1932, I embarked on my independent journey from Harbor Grace, to Paris. I flew in my famous Lockheed Vega plane across the Atlantic Ocean! I was the first woman in history to fly across the Atlantic by herself! The view was absolutely breathtaking! However, during the flight I got off course. I was very afraid when I got lost, but I knew I had to stay calm and be brave. Once I gained courage, I thought about what I needed to do and landed in Londonderry, Northern Ireland instead of Paris. Even though I had a little trouble finding my way, the flight only took 15 hours! When I returned to America I was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. Congress! As I accepted my award, I thought to myself, "Now that I have conquered the Atlantic, I want to conquer the Pacific Ocean!"

Three years later, I heard about a $10,000 award for any pilot who could fly from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California. I looked at the ad and thought, this was my chance! It was going to take a lot of courage, but I knew that I could do it. On January 11th, 1935, I departed from Hawaii and landed in California the next day. Not only was I the first woman to accomplish this, but I was the first person to ever cross the Pacific Ocean! This flight was 400 miles longer than my last flight, but I listened to a symphony that was on the radio for me to pass the time with. As I flew across the ocean, I thought about what I could accomplish next, I thought, "I've flown across the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, why not around the entire world?

Two years later, in March of 1937, me and my co-pilot, Paul Mantz set off to fly around the world! My plan was to fly close to the Equator's route. We started to fly west, but I ended up crashing in Hawaii. I was so disappointed in myself, but I knew I had to keep trying. So after my plane was fixed, we were ready to try again. We traveled from Burbank, California, and Tucson, Arizona, New Orleans, and then Miami then to the Caribbean, to Natal, Brazil! We touched down in Senegal, West Africa; then eastward across Africa to Khartoum and then Ethiopia. From Calcutta, India we flew to Rangoon, Bangkok, and then Bandung, in the Dutch East Indies. 

We had some weather that prevented us from departing from Bandung for several days. We had to make some repairs to our plane and during this time I became ill, which that lasted for several days. But I had to be brave, push through and keep flying. After a stop in Darwin, Australia, we continued eastward to Lae, New Guinea, arriving there on June 29th. Everything, was going according to plan; the next location we were headed to was Howland Island. It was going to be the longest part of our trip and right over the Pacific Ocean. However, as Paul and I flew closer to Howland Island, we could not see where we were to land...we could not see the island. We became lost and our gas was... running low on the plane. I knew if we didn't find Howland, soon...we would go down into the sea. I radioed in to the U.S. Coat Guard, but they could not find us. They could barley hear us. Even when we radioed in an hour later, they still could not find us... and we were never seen from again.

Amelia Earhart disappeared July 2nd, 1937, along with her second navigator, Frederick Noonan. The President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorized a $4 million dollar search rescue for Ms. Earhart and Mr. Noonan. The search ended on July 18th, over two weeks later when there was no evidence of the two pilots survival. But Amelia Earhart's husband, George Putnam, continued to search for her whereabouts by talking to naval experts and scientists who knew about physics. However, Mr. Putnam was unsuccessful in his findings and declared in October of 1937, there was no chance that Amelia and Noonan were alive. On January 5th, 1939, Amelia Earhart and Frederick Noonan were declared legally dead by the Superior Court in Los Angeles, California.