“I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.”

Ronald Reagan-

25 years ago, I was sitting in between classes, when a friend of mine staggered over to our group in horror. She had been watching the launch of the Challenger and had watched it explode – she was in shock.

I don’t remember much after that. I do though remember a line from Presidents Reagan’s speech that night. It’s the line The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

What a powerful line. Whether you like him or not is not important… what is important is that we are brave with our future, that we should explore and try.  We need to continue to be like those great adventurers of old and continue to move forward.

It might scary, we might fail at times…but we need to keep pushing forward. 25 years later I find these words comforting. Taken from a time of loss and simple reminder to be brave….

push forward, remember sacrifices are what make us better and stronger individuals and do not lose hope.

trav-