The Sky Is No Limit

SPRING BREAK! After the craziness that was February, it was nice to finally relax for a week with my family. When you have two separate conferences, a keynote retreat, and FFA Week all in one month, you forget how nice it is to enjoy some rest and relaxation. My family has a long-standing tradition of traveling somewhere warm for Spring Break. This year was no exception to that tradition. For the past few days, I have been soaking up the sun down here in beautiful Orlando, Florida. White sand beaches, cool water, and eighty degree weather have been major highlights. In addition to nature and the scenery, my family enjoys checking out the major sights and sounds. You can usually find the Williams family at any must-see tourist attraction. For those of you still waiting to check Orlando off the bucket list, you should definitely make the trip over to the Kennedy Space Center for the day. Located about an hour east of Orlando, the Kennedy Space Center offers you the amazing opportunity to see our nation’s space program up close. Rockets from the original Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle itself, and more Moon rocks than any one person can handle are spread out over the visitor complex. Towards the end of our experience at the Kennedy Space Center, we happened to hear from one of the tour guides that there was going to be a rocket launch later in the week.

Of course, I was instantly hooked. I started looking up launch times, the best viewing spots, how far we would have to travel from our condo--the whole shebang. My enthusiasm was so great that finding out the rocket was launching at 4:30 AM and that we would have to leave our condo around 3:00 AM seemed like a minor detail. How awesome would it be to see the rocket blast framed against the dark morning sky?! With that same energy and excitement, my dad and I got up yesterday morning and saw one of the most incredible things I have ever witnessed. Something so moving and so spectacular I can’t believe it was real. Thankfully, a local photographer was there to capture the launch and the small group of onlookers. And there on the right hand side, my dad and I as we witnessed humankind once again reach the heavens.

My FFA Advisor would always tell me that the sky was the limit for my potential. Anything that I wanted to do in life or accomplish in this organization, the sky was the limit. It’s a phrase that we hear so often, yet we never think about the actual words. Well after witnessing what I saw yesterday morning, I would like to offer up a new phrase. If humankind can strap themselves to a rocket of our own design and reach the stars above our heads, then the sky is no limit. If we can accomplish something that once was considered impossible or the stuff of science fiction, there is nothing in life that we cannot achieve. Some of our loftiest goals carry that same feeling of hopelessness and impossibility. Combating climate change, tackling systemic racism, and feeding a growing population all feel like daunting tasks. Ones that will require more than we could possibly give to accomplish. Yet even in the most difficult of times, we bring forth the best of humanity and then some. When we need to be more innovative, we put our minds to work and achieve the impossible. When we need to be courageous, we lead with our hearts and stand up for what’s right. And when we feel the call of history to reach new heights, the sky is never the limit. Here’s to those willing to make the giant leaps for mankind.

Dreaming of the Stars,

Derick Williams

Indiana FFA State Reporter