By Guest Writer Aryn Nguyen

It would only take one hour to drive to space. I can't explain the fixation on the stars I had as a child. Maybe I just liked my favorite deep blue contrasted by white, but I think something about the dots of constellations drew me into the web of white lines. I loved learning short sweet stories of the monsters and heroes immortalized in the stars and from cultures I never knew. I often borrowed books from my elementary school library on the topic of the myths tied to the stars. The authors would take those stories and make them their own and being sucked into their imagination helped cultivate my own. Just imagine if you could reach up and just touch the heavens. I've only seen the pure night sky once. Hours deep into the mountains where there was no signal on a school trip. Away from the light pollution, away from the busy world below. Without car headlights flashing in my face, I could focus on the canvas of the sky splattered with white paint. I thought that maybe I could use those cars to explore the world. I could travel to those places the myths came from; indulge in my childhood dreams and learn about the entire Earth. Maybe even go to Mars one day or explore the universe beyond. The limits were as endless as my imagination. I'll work on it. Right now I couldn't even drive the 62 miles needed to reach space.