Brenna Pyatt: Reaching High when Feeling Down
Brenna’s Story:
“My story is not like all the rest. You could say that it is almost as cheesy as a 90’s movie. It began in a strange way, and if certain things didn’t happen in my life, I’m not sure where I would be. I’ll start from the beginning so you, my lovely readers, are not confused!
I was born in Reno, Nevada, May 18th, 1999. I have lived my whole life in this little town, loving every bit of it, but was never a fan of learning; I had always hated school and never tried. I graduated elementary school with B’s and later middle school as well. When I entered high school, I began to feel this deep longing inside of me. I was sad, and I felt as if my life was going nowhere. I soon fell into a very deep depression. Feeling alone and tired, and had contemplated taking my life because I did not believe I would go anywhere- I believed that my life had no meaning, and I had given up. Throughout my freshman year, I got A’s and B’s but I didn’t really try. I had finally had enough and couldn’t stand life anymore. My family saw my tears of sorrow and decided to have me over for dinner. I went over to my grandparents’ house but still, I just didn’t care. My grandmother saw this endless pit of sadness in my eyes and asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. I shrugged and said, “Sure…” and that’s when my grandmother picked the movie: Gravity.
Now hear me out: I’m this 14 year old girl who doesn’t want to live, and sits down next to her worrisome grandparents, and I’m just done. I had lost so much in life, and when you have no inspiration or desire to do something, you kind of just stop believing. As this movie played along, and I became more interested, the sorrow started to leave my heart and I started to ponder space and time. I had never ever in my life thought about astronauts, or what they did. I rarely even looked up at the stars. When the movie was over, my heart was filled with a deep urge to go outside and look at the stars. So when my grandparents fell asleep I ran downstairs and stargazed for what seemed like hours. Little did I know this little movie about astronauts and their terrifying jobs would hook me so deep. After that day, I stopped looking down and worrying about my place in the dirt, and started looking up, wondering at my place amongst the stars. I have no looked down since. My grades began to rise up, and I graduated freshman year with all A’s and one B. I was excited about space, and science too! Then I realized I needed to take this little fantasy and make it a reality.
I soon told my family of my aspiration to be an astronaut, and they giggled and thought it was a cute idea, but I knew they didn’t believe I could do it, or that it was just another idea. I pushed them aside and began doing my research. Sophomore year began, and I started it out with straight A’s; Honors and AP classes, and even extracurricular activities later followed. I joined Civil Air Patrol later that fall and fell in love with the military. Joining Civil Air Patrol was the best thing I’ve ever done. I took up the hobbies of archery, volleyball, drawing, and stargazing. I even received my first telescope! I began robotics club, and Astronomy club too. My life was on track and before you knew it, my family was as well. They started to believe that this wasn’t just my dream, but my reality. I graduated sophomore year with straight A’s. I’m now aiming to get into the Air Force Academy, and to pass junior year just as I did sophomore year. It scares me to think, “What if I didn’t watch that movie?”, or maybe it wasn’t the movie, but the idea behind the movie. I mean, you have to admit that “Gravity” is more a horror film than an inspiration movie, but no one knows how infinitely grateful I am for that movie. I transformed from someone who didn’t try, to someone who will never give up. I’m stronger than I ever have been. I went to boot camp and mastered it with ease! One simple movie, that could’ve never been made- a movie that could have been a different movie, a movie that simply changed my life for the better. People say it’s an idiotic thing, that this movie was so dumb, and why would I want to do such a thing. Others have stories of more interesting things, such as, the landing on the moon, seeing a launch, going to museums, meeting an astronaut- but this is my story, and I’m proud to say that even though mine is not as interesting as most, it’s what kept me alive. It’s my goal in life. I’ve done so many things that I could’ve never done without that little push. I’ve flown air planes, taken command of flights, passed all my finals, and met amazing people! My life is now a planned path for destiny!”
With a can-do attitude and admirable confidence, Brenna is working on becoming an astronaut for NASA one day. She aspires to join the future mars missions, as the scientific community sets their eyes on other worlds and the heavens above. Along with a story that sounds like it came right from an inspirational novel, Brenna also works towards mental health awareness and empowering teens everywhere to follow their dreams. While brave enough to pull herself from the oh too common pit of depression, she hopes others can learn from her story and know they are not alone. For when the going got tough, the tough Brenna Pyatt got going!
You can read more about Brenna Pyatt’s adventures on her socials below!
Facebook: Brenna Pyatt
Twitter: @BrennaPyatt
Instagram: @astrobrenna
The Collins Miller Project 