SpaceRasa

Not OP, but maybe it's okay if I answer as well?

I'm in my 20's and was diagnosed with cancer in December. A couple days after that was the municipal band concert I play in. There was a moment when I was resting and just listening the music all around me, and I had this surreal existential experience where I marveled at humanity and what we could accomplish. Despite all our differences, we can come together to create something beautiful. There was no reason for it - we don't get paid - but we created this piece of art anyway, because we were capable of it, and because others would enjoy it. It's amazing what our species is capable of doing and imagining. It's amazing that we're here to make music at all.

Is it ever frustrating to get to see something ahead of everyone else but have no one to talk to about it?

I wish I could taste other lifestyles as well...

So, why not give it a shot? I'm not saying that you should do something as drastic as leaving your community, but it sounds like you're already expanding your horizons on smaller levels. Would it be possible to do any unorthodox activities covertly? Buy some modern clothes and spend a day out "disguised" going to an ice cream shop, or movie, or some such? I honestly don't know much about your day-to-day life or how realistic these suggestion might be, but surely there's ways to get a small taste of other lifestyles as well.

EDIT: P.S. Thanks for doing this AMA, it's been very enlightening. I hope you choose the life that makes you happy.

Female aerospace engineer, here, class of 2014. Our class was 20% women.

When I graduated and went into the defense industry, I was on a team of 20 that had 2 other women. When I switched to the human spaceflight and exploration industry, the ratio went up significantly, probably now about 35% women.

You're actually pretty likely to get an appointment set up - however, you're much less likely to talk to a Representative themself. Their schedules are absurdly busy, so you'll probably be talking to one of their staffers unless they specifically make room for you.

I went to DC this spring with a grassroots space advocacy organization. Of the 15 meetings set up with different representatives, in only 2 of them was I able to talk to actual congressmen.