A photo taken of the crew of the Eleanor Bolling, a ship that was led by then famous world explorer Admiral William Byrd. Of note in this picture is a young man on the lower left named Billy Gawronski, who had undertaken an extraordinary journey of his own just to appear in this photo. (Image courtesy of Jósef Pilsudski Institute of America)
The day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day is often known as National Good Teen Day, a day dedicated to the teen spirit and image. Yet currently, very few teens are able to vote depending on where they live in the United States, much less make positive changes for those around them. However, history has shown that teens are capable of extraordinary accomplishments, even in the face of difficult adversities. Take one such story of Billy Gawronski.
Billy Gawronski was a young man living in Queens, New York. At the time, like many people of the day, they were fascinated by the thrilling adventures of Admiral William Byrd, the famed explorer from the early 20th century. Gawronski not only wanted to admire Byrd’s travels and accomplishments, but he wanted to be a part of them as well.
When Byrd announced that he was traveling to Antarctica in 1928, Gawronski came up with an ingenuous plan to be part of Byrd’s crew- he snuck on board Byrd’s flagship vessel, the Eleanor Bolling! Unfortunately, he was later caught before being subsequently returned to New York.
While Gawronski’s attempt was unsuccessful, it wasn’t without merit nor in vain- the young man apparently garnered quite a bit of attention for his brash escapade to be a part of Byrd’s crew by the news media of the day.
Not too long after the stowaway’s plans were foiled, still being as enthusiastic as ever, Gawronski attempted the same stunt a second time, this time traveling hundreds of miles all the way to Virginia. Gawronski had heard that Byrd’s crew was refueling in the area, so this once again provided him an opportunity to plead his case. Unlike with his previous attempt, he was once again foiled by the crew and taken to Admiral Byrd once more. This time, the crew took a liking to Gawronski, perhaps seeing a little bit of themselves in him. But his being able to travel with Byrd’s crew would have to be given the okay by the Admiral himself.
After once again pleading his case now that he had won over the crew and achieving some notoriety for his previous attempt, Byrd gives the approval for the young man to join his expedition to the South Pole. Eventually, Gawronski’s perseverance manages to win over the Admiral and he becomes part of the nearly two-year expedition to the South Pole.
Gawronski, for his troubles, gains some notoriety in his own right in the years that followed, garnering him many of his own accomplishments, including going to college after returning from the expedition he wanted to very urgently join. That opportunity itself was made possible by Admiral Byrd himself, who provided Gawronski’s letter of recommendation to enter college.
The moral of the story is that through perseverance, one can win even skeptics and people who previously shot down an idea. This goes the same with any endeavor, whether it is to pass a bill, promote awareness for a cause or fight on behalf a disadvantaged group. Gawronski showed that by not giving up, he was eventually able to achieve that outcome he wanted to achieve, even if he wasn’t successful at first.
Lowering the voting age to 16 can give other modern-day Gawronskis the ability to make change around them. Right now, not much change is going on. Rights are being rolled back, climate is still affecting people, leaders aren’t getting any younger, places aren’t any safer, etc. Very little change is happening.
Lower the voting age to 16 and maybe the United States can really make political changes for the better, just like Gawronski had done on achieving his dreams to be a young explorer.
Jester
#16ToVoteAdvocacyProject 