The Astronaut Hopeful's Manifesto

StartsWithABang writes: Many of us dream of becoming astronauts as a child, but give up on that dream for a number of reasons — the seemingly impossible odds, the demands of daily life, the rigors of preparation — and never even apply. But for a great many, that dream remains alive; the last time NASA had open applications, over 6,000 people threw their hat in the ring, with eight selected. Yesterday, NASA once again opened up astronaut applications, and one prospective applicant has written a manifesto about lessons learned in becoming an aspiring astronaut. While not all of us have the desire to strap ourselves to a rocket and orbit in a tin can above Earth, we all have something to learn from this perspective.