I was having a conversation with someone the other day, and he happened to say "I hate it when someone does something just to be the first to do it. I think that is the wrong reason to do something."  At first I agreed with him. But then I got to thinking, where would this country be if people were afraid to be first? Where would we be if Christopher Columbus hadn't been the first to try to sail around the world (on some fool notion that it was round), and accidentally ran into Cuba? Or if Colonial America hadn't been the first to try to overthrow a superpower? What if we neglected to be the first to try democracy? What would our medical profession be like today if Elizabeth Blackwell hadn't been the first woman to attend medical school? Or if Jackie Robinson hadn't been the first to break the color barrier for baseball? Thomas Edison was the first to try the light bulb and telegraph, and Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. What if no little boy or girl had ever laid awake in their bed at night before they went to sleep thinking to themselves "I want to be the first black person in the senate," or even "I want to be the first woman to wear pants."  Maybe there is some young girl out there dreaming to herself "I want to be the first woman president." This country was built on firsts, and it is still considered to be the best country to live in with the most freedoms to offer. Just think of what would have happened if we hadn't been first.