Hi! So, I recently heard about this thing called the
the Dream Gap. And I keep thinking about it.
The idea of the Dream Gap is that there are many girls
between the ages of 6 and 7 who start to doubt themselves and
their capabilities. Which then sadly might limit their dreams.
And I think one of the reasons why this might happen is
they might not have role models when they're little. Or ever.
There are girls and women doing amazing things all the time.
but maybe girls and boys aren't aware of them.
So, that's why I like to share my role models.
Their stories of success and failure, to inspire everyone.
Like they've inspired me.
So in honor of role models, Here are some of mine.
I am a huge Chloe Kim fan.
The snowboarder from the winter X Games.
Watching her board, is like, watching ballet.
Hello!
So, Chelsea and I were jumping on the trampoline this morning,
you know, flying...
and I was telling her all about Amelia Earhart.
She is one of the most famous pilots in the world,
and a role-model of mine.
Now, most people know her as the first woman to fly
across the Atlantic, but that's just part of her
really interesting story.
Amelia Earhart flew for the first time when she
was 23 years old in 1920,
and she fell in love!
In just 2 years, she had already earned
her pilot's license, saved up to by a second-hand
2-seater plane, which she called "Canary"
because it was bright yellow.
A few years after, Amelia received a call...
They asked her if she
wanted to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
Well, Amelia was fearless, and said "Yes!"
But, this was 1928, so what they were
actually asking was... did she want to be the
first woman passenger?
the men would be the actual pilots...
So, after the trip, Amelia was like,
"Well, that was exciting, but I actually want to
fly the plane across the Atlantic, as the pilot..."
And so she did!
It took her 20 hours, and she was the first
woman to do so. Over the next few years
Amelia became a leader in aviation.
She broke so many records.
Not just as a woman, but as a pilot.
She didn't just follow her passion,
She worked hard to make it easier for
other women too. She wrote books, she lectured,
She encouraged women all around the world.
Chelsea asked me why she was my role-model?
And there are so many reasons...
Her perserverance, her positive attitude,
her bravery...
To me, She is proof that
you can be anything,
but, you can also help others be anything too!
In celebration of Amelia Earhart.
She helped change the world.
I wanted to tell you about another fun tradition my
family and I do.
You should totally try it.
What we do is we write letters to ourselves ... in the future.
Look. This is one of my favorite ones.
I drew this when I was five years old.
I wanted to be a dancer, doctor, astronaut and princess
when I grew up.
You know I remember I had this one particular friend
who would tease me about it, like I could only be one thing.
Really? So I googled that exact profession.
Dancer.
Doctor
Astronaut and princess.
Look what came up. Can you believe it?
Mae Jemison. A real person!
Doctor. Check. Astronaut. Check.
An astronaut who's been in space even.
And dancer. Check.
That's right. A dancer!
She studied with Alvin Ailey.
She even brought a poster of him with her when she went
to space to prove the point. That art and science
don't need to be divided.
So don't let anyone tell you that you only get to choose
one thing in life. Life is long!
Fill it up! Oh... As for the princess part,
Look. Anyone who has floated in space,
danced in West Side Story, can cure illness and injury,
and teaches little kids about the possiblities of science?
Well, they are a leader to me. And everyone knows, the best
the best princesses are good leaders.
Hi everyone.
You will never believe who I got the chance to interview.
Ballerina, Misty Copeland.
See took time out of her busy schedule to sit down...
and talk with me. How cool is that?
Okay Misty, let's start with the serious questions first.
Cheese or pepperoni? (Laughs) Hmmm. Cheese or pepperoni?
At this point I'm going to say cheese since I've stopped...
eating meat. But, I loved pepperoni when I did eat it.
Cheese or pepperoni for you Barbie?
Oh. (laughs). Uh, huh, probably cheese.
There's nothing better than melted cheese.
What is your dream role?
I've already performed it. It was Juliet.... But, I...
maybe in the future something I've haven't done.
and have wanted to do since I discovered ballet is Kitri...
in the ballet, Don Quixote.
Oh, I've never seen that. I'll have to add it to my list.
Barbie, do you like ballet?
I love ballet. Actally my sister Chelsea is studying it right now
and she wanted to know if you had any advice on...
how to remember the five positions?
Well, I think that you just have to go in order.
And I think that first position is the easiest to do.
So that should come first.
And I think as you go higher with each position, they get...
a little more, a little more tricky.
So fifth position by far is something that you need to work
your way in to. So know that that one's last...
'cause you end up like a pretzel.
I like pretzels. (laughs) Okay. That's great advice.
Um, what's some good advice that you've been given?
Not let other people's words define me.
I think that's really important for me to understand as a
perfomer. When you're used to being critized a lot.
That makes sense.
Well what are three simple things that make you happy?
Ballet
Music.
And food. (laughs)
Me too. (giggles). Um. What is your biggest fear?
Um. Yeah, I think one of my biggest fears...
even just growing up was is, is letting, letting someone down.
I think that's what makes me such a hard worker...
And I think that's what's made me suceed in my, in my career.
and in my craft.
Wow. Well. What's something that you would tell someone...
when they're facing their biggest fear?
To just do it! I think there's no real way of preparing...
for something that seems scary.
And you just kind of have to of dive in to it...Um...
And know that your're going to, you're gonna come out of it...
standing on both, standing on both feet.
That's so inspiring. Who was your biggest role model?
Raven Wilkinson. She is a former ballerina with the
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
And she was an African American ballerina, the first to be...
accepted in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
Oh.
Who was your biggest role model, Barbie?
Oh, there are just so many. Um. But definitely David Bowie.
Mae Jemison. Melinda Gates.
You know I just am really inspired by people who are...
brave enough to stand up and stand out.
Just like you are Misty.
What is one moment that you will remember forever?
The day I was promoted to principle dancer (giggles) yeah.
Yeah. That's pretty good.
Thank you so much for being a guest on my vlog today, Misty.
We cannot wait to see what amazing and inspiring thing
you do next. Right everyone? P.A.C.E.
Hey guys!
So, one of the things that Ken and I share is a love
of science and space.
When we were kids, we used to prentend that we
were space scientists that were going on crazy
adventures to all these different planets...
We had pretty big imaginations.
So, our 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Naito, saw how much
we loved space and suggested that we do a project
on Katherine Johnson.
She was a pioneer in the space program, and quickly
became a role model that Ken and I share.
Without her, the United States would have never
put a person in space.
We would have never landed on the moon!
But you know what Ken and I learned?
She did it with math.
Space travel has been a dream for thousands
of years, but it was Johnson's math that
made it possible.
Johnson understood that math isn't just some
numbers representing abstract concepts,
it's a way of expressing the natural world
with a language.
By studying Johnson,
Ken and I learned to look at the world...
the universe... in a whole new way.
Math makes imagination real.
Thank you Mrs. Naito, for pointing us in
the right direction.
And thank you Katherine Johnson for opening up the world
and the universe to us.
P.A.C.E.