The Overview Effect

I was beyond overwhelmed. I was on the verge of tears, and it was only a matter of time before the small drops of water embarked on their own journey down my distraught face. I was in space. Finally. Two long treacherous years I had trained, and I had finally made it. It felt as if my entire life had been leading up to this. I knew the four others onboard the Atlantis felt the same way. We were the 34th mission aboard the Atlantis and we would most definitely not be the last. I should have been ecstatic, but something felt off. It felt wrong, but so unexplainably right.

I felt as if I had been unknowingly looking for something my entire life, and I had found it at long last. As I looked out the singular window of my cramped quarters aboard the shuttle, I felt myself begin to cry. When I first embarked on this journey, I hardly expected to spend most of my limited time in space looking down at my home, Earth. Especially whilst the window across from me held a view of the great beyond. Yet I did. Being able to take in the Earth in its entirety, with just a mere glance, was liberating. In that moment I was like a bird - a bird confined to a cage. But now I could fly, I could soar, I could travel unimaginable distances and see what I could only imagine in my wildest dreams. Looking down at the Earth, my home, I sighed. I felt as if my mind had just shattered, then been put back together again. I was completely and utterly distraught.

I vaguely heard my crew members calling for me to join them, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the view. I could see so much, yet so little. I could see every place on Earth's surface with a single glance, but I couldn't see any people or buildings. I couldn't see any form of daily life. Everything was a blur. The tears started flowing uncontrollably down my face as I took in the horror that was the Amazon Rainforest. My face was contorted with disbelief. I could clearly see how much was burning. I was appalled. There was so much fire. So much destruction. Yet nobody was doing anything real about it. People were spreading awareness on social media, but nothing more. Not enough people were taking action.

I could see almost everything with utmost clarity. I needed to do something about this treacherous situation. All of a sudden I had this overpowering urge to do something about it, about the state we have put our planet in. Seeing the Earth from my vantage point amongst the stars completely changed my mindset. It changed my mindset on so many things, in so many ways. For better and for worse alike. I couldn't just let the Earth, our home, wither away into nothing. Which was going to happen, sooner or later, if nobody did anything about it. I knew in that moment that I was going to do something. It didn't matter what I did, no action was too small. I was going to make a difference. I couldn't let our Earth become a dead Earth, where nobody could live, and nothing could survive. I was going to take initiative, and lead others to do the same. I was going to make a difference.

Going into space I knew I was about to have the most amazing and memorable experience of my life, and I did. But not necessarily in the way I expected. I was all jittery and anxious, and anything but well-composed. I expected to go on an amazing expedition through space. I went on an expedition through the cosmos, but it was hardly memorable in comparison to seeing the Earth from my vantage point amidst the stars. I loosed a shaky breath as I felt a tremor of disbelief travel down my spine. My journey was far from over, it would never truly be over, at least for me. Even when I'm back on Earth I will always be left wondering and yearning for more. I was thoroughly shaken, coming to this shocking realization about the predicament of our home had left me nothing more than a crying, emotional, mess. The condition of our Earth was bad, and I was going to do something about it. But before I started to worry further about the Earth, I had to take care of myself. My muscles were taut with apprehension, and my face was streaked with tears. But with tremendous difficulty I finally managed to tear my eyes and my thoughts away from the little blue and green planet we humans call home.