No, you are absolutely ridiculous!

                                       

Jessica Watson is a name that has been all over the media these past few weeks. If you don't know who this girl is, you should. 16 years old, and sailing solo around the world? Everyone should know that name. The question is, is she to young? After reading the opinion at:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26062332-5007146,00.html

I admit, I was enraged. Not only does the writer compare Jessica to a 13 year old girl, but she continually refers to her as a child. A child who should be stopped, sheltered from herself. At 16, society says it's okay to have your own children. It's okay to get behind the wheel of a car. It's okay to leave school and go out into the workforce. So... if 16 year olds can do all this,  should they be stopped from following their dreams? When I was discussing this at length with my father, he dutifully pointed out to me, that he would not let me take such a voyage (Although I pointed out this is probably wise since I have never sailed a boat in my life). He used the example also, that as experienced as a surfer my 16 year old brother may be (and he is exceptionally good)  for someone his age, there is no way he would allow him to attempt to be the youngest person to say, surf the biggest wave in the world. I concur, letting him do so would be seriously risking his life. There is one fundamental difference however, between this example, and Jessica Watson. She wants to take this risk.

I think after her collision with an oil tanker last week, she has proved that she can handle an emergency situation. Her ability levels are such that skill wise she is ready for this adventure.  Enough life experience? Well that is yet to be seen, although on that note, would we let a 90 year old to sail solo around the world? Imagine the risks. They might have been sailing for 80 years, but do they have the physical strength? no. Would we stop them? No we wouldn't. What about a 20 year old who was compromisingly physically disabled? No, we would not stop them either.  They would be, as this girl should be, deemed adventurous heros.

Personally I am jealous of this girl. She is so passionate about her dreams, so motivated to live them. Where am I? University, with only the vaguest idea of where I want to go with my life, and certainly not a lot of time to have such passion for anything. Her education from here on in, is meaningless if sailing is her calling. And who is to say she won't finish her education anyway?  It  would be like saying to someone who desperately wanted to be a model, and was given a contract with Chanel, no, sorry, you need to finish high school. I assure you, you do  not need to know how to read shakespeare in order to become a supermodel.

My point is, dreams are important. Jessica's parents recognize this and so do her sponsors, friends and myself. We should be thankful, that our youth is daring to be just a little bit dangerous.  If you think this is an "absolutely ridiculous" notion, maybe you should look at how ridiculous you are being, and consider what else society allows young adults to do at the ripe old age, of 16.

You can check out Jessica Watson's website here http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/