That’s the start of one of the most unforgettable line of all time, and a personal favorite of mine. I am writing this post with a heavy heart. Last August 25, 2012, Neil Armstrong died. If you were living under a rock for the last 60 years, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. His first words “One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” echoed throughout the world. It was the moment when nationalities, ethnic races and religious differences, didn’t matter. As a race, we set one of the greatest achievement of all time. Books telling stories about man being on the moon no longer count as science fiction, it was now science facts.

I was about 6 or 7 years old when I learned about Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The idea of going into outer space was very appealing to me. I’ve read books, saw pictures of the space race and watch movies about it. The thought of being in a weightless state was heavenly to me. The people who made it to outer space were my heroes, and the one who I adored most was Neil Armstrong. Not because he was the first man on the moon but, err, okay yeah, it was because he was the first man on the moon. Hey if you were the first guy in a place where nothing can survive and no one has been, but you still do it in the name of science(or just to show the USSR who has the bigger “rocket”), you have the biggest balls in the world. I admired the guy so much that when I finished Kinder 2(in the Philippine school system, that’s non-mandatory grade before grade 1), we were asked on what we would want to become someday, I never hesitated to say that I wanted to be an Astronaut.

My parents were very supportive and they even have someone make me an astronaut like outfit…well, at least what he think is an astronaut outfit. Nevertheless, it was still one of my most unforgettable moment, partly because, I will be starting Grade 1 and partly because I broke that helmet when I accidentally dropped it and we paid for it.

Hey, if you have a helmet that would break when you just dropped it on the floor, I wouldn’t want that thing protecting my head, at the same time I remember vaguely saying something about making my family proud that I would be the first Filipino on the moon(or space, it’s all good), but that is still yet to come, maybe. Seriously though, I have admired Mr. Armstrong and I will always will.

Mr. Armstrong, you may not see this but, thank you for taking that “small step,” because it gave us the much needed push to go forward and develop as a race. Personally, you made me realize that if I don’t take that “small step” at the start, I would not be able to make “giant leaps” in my life. Thank you again, Mr. Armstrong and may you rest in peace.

P.S.

I created this last August, but I was not able to find my old pictures when I wore the “astronaut” costume until now, so, yeah.