Find the Magic Near You

You may be thinking, “’Find the magic?’ Magic is for kids.”

I say you are wrong!

I don’t mean disappearing acts and gold at the end of a rainbow, (though boy howdy, would that be nice!). What I do mean is this: If you are stationed in a place that was not your dream location, sometimes it can be hard to get out of the funk of unfamiliarity and loneliness.

About two months ago I began to get out of my funk enough to seek out some magic. The particular magic I’m going to share with you today? Watching and feeling a NASA rocket launch into space.

Space!

I’d been searching and searching for something awesome. Anything awesome to snap me out of my mood. I wanted to feel special and important. I wanted to find something great and big to be a part of. That’s when I discovered we have a Nasa flight facility about an hour away.

Who doesn’t think rockets and space and anything of the sort is fantastic and important and special?

I also found that NASA has a program called NASA Social. When they launch rockets, or host webinars, or do press events, they enlist the social-media-loving public to come and join in the fun: Bloggers, photographers, and Twitter and Instagram gurus.

“I can be a guru,” I thought. So, I applied to be a part of the next NASA event at NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. And, thanks to some street cred from Army Wife Network, I got in!

What does that mean? It means that I got to be a part of a three-day, behind-the-scenes event at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. I learned about the NASA balloon research program. I got to see where sounding rockets are built. I got to meet all of the folks that each play a specific, integral role in the NASA program.

These people were what made this experience so magical for me. They had such pride in their work, such accrued knowledge and dedication to the piece that they played in an endeavor that was bigger than any of them individually. I was moved by their pride. I was touched by their willingness to share with our group everything they could so that we could understand and feel the magic as well. It was the first time in a long time that I felt at home. It was so reminiscent of our military family—all of us proud to be a part of something bigger and more important than ourselves.

I felt completely, magically, at home.

Our group? Consisted of about twenty folks from all over. I was the only “local.” People had flown in from all over the country. Some were big-time paid photographers; some were just space enthusiasts. Some, like me, were just looking to be a part of something amazing, and NASA did not disappoint.

Our group gelled instantly. We became an unlikely team, sharing photos, retweeting awesome quips, hanging out and encouraging and enabling all of us to experience the thrice delayed launch—yes, launch—of the Orbital Sciences second Antares rocket. The rocket was filled with more than 3,000 pounds of supplies and science experiments (most of which came from seventh graders a thousand times smarter and more ingenious than I could ever hope to be) that would be sent to the International Space Station.

In space.

Outer space people.

That’s incredible.

There is a lot of scientific information that I am not including in this story. I am not a science-y sort of gal. I am a people sort of gal. If you are amazed by the science, visit NASA’s website. You can also find NASA on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. If you are a people person or a science person, follow NASA Social on Facebook or Twitter. Apply for any and all Social events in your area. Apply repeatedly. It is worth the effort.

You will leave with awe.

You will leave with a once in a lifetime experience under your belt.

You will leave with friends. Real ones. From all over who experienced the same magic you did. That is what I gained. An amazing, magical shared experience with amazing now friends.

Some of these images are mine. Some belong to my new space pals. They’ve all given me permission to share them with you. Incredible, right?

So, in summary, get off your butt. Shake off the funk, and find the magic. It is there. There is magic somewhere near you waiting for you to find it. It may not be space. It may be better. Just go look!