Trip to Outer Space

  Here's a benchmark that I had to write for school. It's a short story about the first person in outer space. I feel very proud of this paper because it's very different from anything that I've ever written before. My goal for this was to make it somewhat like a children's story; very casual and even funny at times (at least I hope people find it funny). I had lots of fun writing this and it didn't take much time. So, without further ado, I present to you "Trip to Outer Space"!

Enjoy!            

                          Trip to Outer Space

            ‘Well… Today is the day!’ I thought to myself with a little bit of a nervous undertone. I had prepared for this for years, and today was the day it was all going to happen. I had gotten the idea first when I was  4 years old and had fantasized about it until I was about 8, then I started the actual preparations. I had worked so hard, day by day, hoping that it would all turn out in the end. Now here I am, standing on the launch pad in the backyard of my late Grandfather’s country mansion, all geared up in my space suit and ready to go. I almost couldn’t believe that it was happening as I thought to myself ‘I, 25 year old super-genius and lonely bachelor, Bert Adams Downing, am going to outer space.’

            I was so ready for it all to happen. I had prepared for this single moment since I was 8. I had researched all that I could about space for 5 years then started taking action. I drew all of the blueprints that I needed for the launch pad, the rocket, and for my suit. I built the launch pad on my Grandfather’s (he wasn’t late at the time) tennis courts that he never used then started working on the rocket. I finished both the launch pad and the rocket within 7 years time. I wanted to paint the exterior of my rocket to make things a bit more exciting, but I decided to wait until after I made my suit, because that was a bit higher on the To-Do List. But then, I got the phone call that my Grandfather had died in a tragic hang-gliding accident.

            My Grandfather, Bartholomew Bart Downing IV, was quite the dare devil. He had done all sorts of crazy things throughout his time. He tamed lions for a circus in India, went cliff-diving into the Niagara Falls, and went bungee-jumping off of the nose of the great Sphinx (that’s probably why it’s broken). And now, after all of those crazy things that he accomplished, he died in an attempt to hang-glide to Hawaii at 90 years old. I loved my Grandfather dearly and he had always supported me in my ideas to go to outer space, now it was my turn to honor him. I knew that I had to make it to space.

             After some time of mourning, I got back to work. I started on my suit and got it worked out perfectly. In fact, I finished it in much less time than expected, so then I got to paint my rocket. I painted the tip of the rocket red, the middle royal blue, and the tail end red and white circus stripes. I thought that I might be done with the paint job when I decided that there was one more thing that needed to be done. So, on the side of the rocket, in big, bold, yellow letters, I painted ‘Bartholomew Bart Downing IV’. Finally, after all of that time preparing, a month after I turned 25, it was time to make a trip to outer space.

            Now, standing here in my space suit on the launch pad beside my newly painted rocket, I was ready to blast-off! I climbed into the rocket, sat down in my seat, and got the rocket ready to launch. Right before I pushed the big red button to start the count down, I called my Mom to tell her I loved her and that I’d be home in a few hours. Then after I hung up, I pushed the red button to start the 10 second count down, the longest 10 seconds of my life. I counted along in my mind with the digital screen showing the numbers ‘10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0’. The whole rocket shook as I quickly got pushed back into my seat like I was on the downward slope of a rollercoaster. As the rocket got faster and I got pushed back farther into my seat, the sky started getting closer and closer as the turbulence got worse and worse! Then suddenly, I was in space!

            The space all around me was black with more stars than I had ever seen in my whole life speckling its surface. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I realized something, something that would change this whole adventure. As long as everything worked out and went as planned, I, Bert Adam Downing, am the first person to ever be in outer space! From that point on, the trip was a million times more exciting than I had ever thought it would be. I saw the moon, silver in color with craters covering its surface, the planet Mars, red-ish orange in color, and the sun, burning bright and strong. It was all amazing! As I continued with my journey I saw even more planets, comets, and many other wonderful things! I finally decided that it was time to head back home, and as I turned around, there it was. My home, Planet Earth! It looked beautiful; green, blue, and swirling with white clouds. After quite some time, I made a safe landing back on earth. As I climbed out of what was left of my rocket, I just stood there, smiling and laughing. I looked at the sun and the little glimpse of moon that I could see in the sky and was overwhelmed with joy that I was the first person to see all of it from out there, in outer space. I then called my Mom and told her the good news that I, 25 year old super-genius and lonely bachelor, Bert Adams Downing, was the first man in outer space!