File:KSC-05-S-00038 (ksc 020305 fincke).webm

English: I'm Expedition 9 flight engineer and NASA science officer Mike Fincke aboard the International Space Station. When I was 3 years old, I remember watching the first people land on the Moon, and I watched the whole Apollo program, from then on, on the TV all the time and I was only, you know, really young. And that really made a big impression on me and I knew that I wanted to become an astronaut. I was a little boy and since then, I've had my dreams come true. I'm a very lucky guy. To achieve my goal, I knew that it wasn't gonna be easy, but in this country, everything is possible. And I was so, so lucky. My scholarship, of course, was through the Air Force, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, ROTC, and they paid for my undergraduate and allowed me to get some degrees that were helpful, that, so during my Air Force Career, I could get the kind of experience and practice and skills that were necessary to become an astronaut. The coolest thing about my job is flying in space, getting a chance to see our beautiful planet from up above, getting to perform spacewalks, but also getting to meet a lot of people along the way and being part of a really big team that's working together to make things on the planet Earth a lot better. I was very blessed and very lucky to have a chance to see our planet from 250 miles above. Every time I flew past the window, I would just look down and just, just smile -- both on the inside and on the outside, because it was, is such a beautiful view. And it changed me, honestly it did. It changed me, I was able to see, get a perspective that the Space Station and our Space Program is about what human beings can do when they work together. I was on the Space Station for six months and there were only two of us onboard. We didn't have any visitors, and it felt a little bit isolated, but only a little bit. And part of the reason was, is, we had telephone capability, and I was able to talk to my family and keep in good touch. And we had some e-mail capability too, so I didn't feel -- I didn't feel that I was too isolated from the planet. Being an astronaut, for me, has been extremely rewarding, and I think there's probably a few people out there that might want to become an astronaut, and if I had to give them any advice, it would be, first of all to -- this is good advice for just about anything, including being an astronaut -- but first of all is to be a good person. That's very important in life, all around. Be the nicest, best person that you can be. That just makes things better for everybody. But also to be really good at what you do. So, whether you're students, you need to study hard, or whether you're a scientist or engineer, you need to be the best scientist or engineer that you can be. And finally, I'd suggest never to give up. Life throws us all kinds of curveballs, and I've had a few in my life, but persistence really pays off. And even though I had a few curveballs, like I said, I've been able to achieve my dreams and I wish everybody out there to be able to achieve their dreams too. And in this country, it's possible.