Shoot for the Stars

When I was younger, I had a serious fascination with the stars and the moon. So much so, that my grandmother got me this moon night-light that was about a foot in diameter and could go through all the phases if the right button on the remote was pressed. My father and I had an evening tradition where he would come in and turn on my moon and say good night. Takes the saying “hung the moon” to a whole other level! Recently, while packing the garage of our house in preparation to move, I found that moon once again. It instantly took me back to those thoughts of my grandmother and my father. It’s crazy how much of an impact simple objects can leave on a person, but what is more surprising is our ability to give these objects so much meaning.

Staying on the topic of astronomy, I would like to refer to constellations. We know through science that they are simply stars formed in peculiar patterns that really have no scientific evidence or structure for the objects they often represent. However, history tells us that each and every collection of stars was put together in the sky for a different reason. Some stories recount tales of love, while others recount tales of danger and heroism. Whatever the tale and whatever the mythology behind them, the simple fact is that humans, yet again, gave significant meaning to something that was created randomly.

My question is, if we can give such fantastical meaning to inanimate objects, can we not validate the work of our friends and family the same way? Why don’t we recount tales of our friends’ heroism in conquering their fear? Why don’t we fantasize the tale of how our parents met? Maybe it’s because these stories aren’t as fantastical as we would hope, but the fact still remains that we often go day-to-day thinking our lives are trivial and boring when all it takes is a change in our mindset to make our lives more fantastical and full of meaning.

Go find who hung your moon. See what constellations give you meaning and shoot for the stars!

Forever Blue,

Scuyler Zenger

Kansas FFA Secretary