Earlier this week, Texas businesswoman Linda Finch took off on the first leg of her flight around the world from California.

However, this flight isn’t being made to break any records. Its purpose is to highlight and remember Amelia Earhart, the first woman who attempted to fly around the world 60 years ago.

Earhart’s plane was lost in the Pacific and her body was never recovered. To this day, her death remains a mystery.

Finch’s flight is a respectable tribute to Earhart. She is flying a plane similar to the one Earhart flew, which navigates at a slow speed of 150 miles an hour. With the exception of having advanced satellite navigation gear, Finch’s flight will take her 26,000 miles across 18 countries in 2 1/2 months. The flight plan is close to what Earhart flew and consists of a few stops along a wide, zigzag route around the globe.

While Finch is trying to re-create, but with success, Earhart’s flight, one thing remains missing.

The excitement, tension and fame surrounded by Earhart’s mission is not being experienced to the same degree by Finch.

Her journey most likely would give people a greater appreciation of Earhart. However, to no fault of Finch’s, Earhart, the person and the pilot, will never be fully understood through this flight.

Simply put, one cannot relive the same experience twice.

Educators, historians and the entertainment industry have strived to get the full effect of events in our world through re-creating events. It is, after all, the best way to truly getting a good grasp of historical events.

If re-creating a situation or event is done really well, the participants and audience will feel its impact.

But this is rare. Only truly great performances can achieve the high level of emotional understanding needed to obtain a grasp of what is being projected to audiences.

But no matter how well events are re-created, their full impacts by way of the people and their environments, can never be 100 percent accurate to reality or original performances.

Movies are an example of this. Films such as Schindler’s List and Shine are outstanding portrayals of real people. Although the actors and audiences can feel the emotions portrayed in these films, being part of reality and acting in front of a camera isn’t the same.

Films based on works of fiction also do not hold the same essence as the original.

In 1956, Around the World in 80 Days, based on the Jules Verne classic, won much acclaim worldwide. Then, within the last decade, a remake of the movie was made that didn’t hold the same level of thrill and excitement as the original.

The same holds true for most movie sequels and some remakes of old songs.

Trying to relive important moments in our own lives also does not carry the same emotions as it did the first time. This is because our reactions to many first experiences are based on emotions of which we are not self-conscience.

The gut reaction one gets when winning an award, being in love or attending a funeral are all different. Although they can occur more than once in a lifetime, the paths alongside each situation are different, whether they be weddings, ball game victories or world trips.

Reliving the successful part of Earhart’s flight is impossible, but Finch’s flight will be an adventure in its own way. Her journey, if successful, will be a monumental achievement for her because it will hold specific experiences she will cherish. Experiences no one else has had and no one will.

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Shuva Rahim is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Davenport.