(Written by an ESL grade school student in Portland, Oregon)
Several years ago, a girl named Hanna lived in a poor village in China. All the time she was growing up she longed to be an astronaut. She watched the news every night, as she was fascinated with the idea that people could be launched into space. She wanted to be part of a program like that, but knew that would be difficult as her family was very poor. They would think it ridiculous if she told them her dream.
Back then, only men were selected as astronauts, but Hanna also wanted to be one so that she could show everyone in the world that women could do it, too.
One day when she was almost finished with her schooling, the teacher began handing out fliers to the students. She explained that anyone who wanted to become an astronaut could fill it out and perhaps they'd be successful. Hanna immediately ran across the room to get a flier, and when everyone noticed that she was the only girl to get one, they all laughed and started joking about how a girl couldn't be an astronaut. Hanna didn't let that bother her. She said to herself that she'd show them what women can do.
When she got home, she showed the form to her parents, and they laughed, too. Even her sister thought it was funny and repeated what everyone else had been saying - that a woman couldn't be an astronaut. Her parents took the flier from Hanna and threw it in the trash. She was heartbroken.
Later that evening, when everyone else was asleep, Hanna crept down the stairs and took the flier out of the trash. She filled it in, put it in an envelope, and hid it under her pillow. She could hardly sleep, as she was so worried that her parents would find out.
The next day, she woke up extra early and silently went to the post office and mailed the letter. Before she got back home, everyone else in the family was up, and they were all wondering where she was. Their best guess was that she had gone to school early to study so they didn't think about it anymore. Hanna's sister, however, happened to throw something in the trash, and she noticed that the flier wasn't there anymore. That made her very suspicious.
For several days at school, Hanna was very nervous and excited, as she wondered if she'd get an answer to her letter. She knew that it would take some time, but every day she checked at the post office to see if there was anything for her, and she was disappointed every time. On one of those nights, she had a dream that she was in a space vehicle that would soon be launched into space. When she woke up, she realized that it had just been a dream and that made her even more disappointed.
She continued to check the mail every day, and when she was about to graduate, she checked one last time and was delighted that a letter had her name on it. She was actually jittery with excitement as she opened the envelope, and as she read the letter, tears came to her eyes. It was exactly what she'd wanted. She'd have to wait a little longer, but she'd be able to enter a training program to realize her dream.
When she got home, she showed the letter to her parents, and they were very proud of her. Her sister was too stunned to speak.
When Hanna turned 25, she was invited to start training and it lasted seven years before she was finally prepared to go into space. She was sad to leave her family behind, but was also very excited.
Her dream had come true.