The US Embassy in Cairo hosted a round table with an influential female icon, Aisha Bowe, the first African/American woman to join Blue Origin trips to space.
Bowe openly talked about her dreams, goals, and journey with the participants. She had a warm and inspiring talk that represented every girl worldwide.
She asserted that she loves to share special moments with girls and invites them to share their dreams and moments with her.
About her memories as a student of sciences and mathematics, she recalled: “I thought that I would be happy when I graduated from college and started working, and I realized that It wasn’t exactly what I wanted; there were elements of being in the job that I liked, and there were elements that I didn’t enjoy so much and that not enjoying is important.”
Bowe continued: “You can determine the next best direction for you by listening to those challenging moments, so you’re not afraid of change. I don’t fear it because change means growth; if you were not made uncomfortable by life, you may not have had the opportunity to grow. If I had not been uncomfortable with the lack of achievement early on, I probably would not have set my sights on going to university and striving to do something more significant, so I welcome the change. I accept the discomfort that comes with the change.
Regarding her method to achieve her goals, she highlighted: “Every year, I make a list, and I decide what it is that I want to be that year this year; I’m going to be an astronaut last year I doubled down on being a CEO and a business owner and before then I wanted to be more in the community. I wanted to be more altruistic. And so I really kind of thought, How do I? Create a life where I have a maximum set of options. How do I create a life where I project this persona that allows other people to continue to learn and to explore.”
Next, she discussed her feelings about her trip to space. She said: “I feel so many things. I’m excited. I’m honored. I recognize that everything I thought went wrong actually went right, and I feel lucky to bring my story and my journey to meet the moment Because I feel like it was meant to be looking back.”
“I Didn’t set out to be an aerospace engineer; I set out to live a life that I loved, and more importantly, I did not want to live with my parents forever. I wanted to be able to move out. I wanted to be able to take care of myself. I want to be able to have freedom over my life and my choices. That was the goal.”
She added, “You do not have to know what you want to do from an early age to be successful you do not have to be perfect, but you must be confident, and you must be persistent, and You must move with purpose and that people can and do inspire the world.”
After that, Bowe evaluated the current stand of women in her company. She highlighted: “Now, there are so many spaces for women to occupy. So, women have a role in all parts of the process.
She had a free and warm talk about how women motivate themselves. Bowe said: “Mental health, for me, is a practice. So, every day, I carve time. For me, it’s the morning. I’m an early bird person between 6:00 and roughly 7:30 in the morning. I understand that. It could be an afternoon or an evening, but I dedicate an hour every day to myself that is not necessarily exercise. I like exercise.
If you can do it in the hour, definitely do it in the hour. But what I do in that time is I allow myself to think, I allow myself to prioritize, I allow myself to meditate, and I also make time to pray. Those are like, that’s kind of like my magic mix.”
