Impossible is Just an Opinion

Content Warning: Sexual Assault and Rape.

Today’s post recognizes the USA’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April) and Canada’s Sexual Violence Prevention Month (May). The Government of Canada reports that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men experience sexual violence in Canada. Minorities, including people with disabilities, are at high risk. This year I wanted to continue a tradition I started in 2025, of highlighting a hero in honor of these months.

Amanda Nguyen’s Story:

Here is my own summary of Amanda Nguyen’s story. I will include links to other articles and videos below.

In 2013, Amanda Nguyen a senior at Harvard University, had a dream: to become the first Vietnamese woman in space. But when she was raped on campus by a fellow student, she put that dream on hold to pursue another.

In the hospital after her assault, Amanda was slapped with three horrifying facts:

Her rape kit would cost $4,863.79.
Her rape kit could be destroyed untested and without her knowledge after only six months, even though the statute of limitations to prosecute rape in her state was 15 years.
She would need to file a new extension application every six months to keep her kit from being destroyed, forcing her to relive the trauma of her attack twice a year in perpetuity. Also, no one really knew how to file for that extension. She would need to figure that out on her own.

One year later, after fighting to save her own rape kit, Amanda founded Rise, a civil rights organization that petitions for the rights of sexual assault survivors.

In just two years, Rise guided the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights into law in the United States. This law mandates that rape kits must be provided at no cost, and must be preserved for up to 20 years (the end of each state’s statute of limitations). It was passed unanimously by the US Senate, and signed into law on October 7, 2016.

After this success, Rise took its message to the world, by hosting town halls at the United Nations. In September 2022, the United Nations unanimously passed a resolution called the Universal Survivor Bill of Rights which acknowledged rape and sexual violence survivors on a global stage for the first time. This bill condemns all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, and urges all of its members to implement legal protections and avenues of justice for sexual assault survivors.

Amanda was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, and was listed as one of Time Magazine’s “Women of the Year” in 2022.

When summarizing her journey of changing the law, Amanda said, “Impossible is just an opinion.”

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On April 14th 2025, after putting her dream on hold for the sake of fellow survivors, Amanda Nguyen became the first Vietnamese woman in space.

It is tradition for astronauts to bring a totem (a personal item) with them and release it into the air when the craft reaches zero gravity. Amanda brought two. The first was a letter she wrote to herself after the rape, telling herself to never give up. The second was her hospital bracelet from after the attack. The date on the bracelet was a reminder of how far she had come: April 14th, another anniversary date on which her rape kit could have been destroyed, had she not changed the law.

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Amanda Nguyen continues to be a hero for women, even as an astronaut. In space, Amanda conducted experiments for menstrual products and for breast cancer research. Cancer cells grow ten times faster in zero gravity. This phenomenon allowed her to test a new ultrasound device that could detect breast cancer sooner. If successful, this device could help save the lives of millions of women worldwide.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, why haven’t you heard about this ground-breaking experiment? The answer makes me furious.

While Amanda was advancing breast cancer research, pop star Katy Perry was floating around the same aircraft singing and holding a daisy. Katy Perry’s space tourism drew all of the attention, and attracted harsh criticism of space travel. The general public lumped all the “astronauts” together, and harshly bullied everyone on the space flight that day, including the Harvard-trained researcher who was trying to save lives. If that feels as unjust to you as it does to me, share Amanda’s story far and wide!

Like many women, I often feel that getting my voice heard above the noise is impossible. I shout about mental health and invisible disabilities, wondering if anyone can even hear me. My friends shout about the injustices they experience in our world. Amanda shouted about the rights of sexual assault survivors, and eventually, the world listened. Her story is a reminder to never stop shouting, and to remember that impossible is just an opinion.