As cliche as it sounds, I became fascinated with airplanes and flying while watching Top Gun at five years old. After that, I became interested in anything that flew.
Not always the best student (almost failed junior high, barely got through high school), my parents were looking for something that would motivate me to do better in school (and in life in general).
On my 15th birthday, my parents surprised me with an intro flight at a local flight school. Suddenly the kid who didn't give a about school or anything other than chasing girls started to live life with a little more focus and determination.
"If you give it your all, we'll do anything to make it happen" is what they told me.
A year later, I brought home the grades (while still chasing the girls though :rawk
and my mother brought me to a local flight school to start Private Pilot training.
Shortly afterward, I earned my Private Pilot license at local university and worked my way through Instrument, Commercial, and just recently - CFI. After my Junior year, which ended last August, I earned a competitive internship at a major airline (guess which one) based in Memphis, where I'm writing this right now.
While it has been a tough road so far, working full/near full time throughout all of college and paying for as much of my training out of pocket that I can, I have managed to make the Dean's list every semester and will graduate near the top of my class. While I haven't been able to attend all the parties and punish my liver as much as the rest of my classmates have, I wouldn't have done things differently should I have been offered a chance to do it again.
I guess becoming a pilot gave me focus in life, and allowed me to reach my full potential. I love to fly, and can't picture myself doing anything else. The thought of being able to teach someone to fly, and being in a position to enable aviation to do the same thing for them that it did to me is such an honor, and something that I cannot wait to do for a full-time job.
With all the negativity out there, If I listened to all of the people who told me to not even bother because "it's not worth it," or because "it's not what it used to be," I would still be tending a register at my local grocery store and asking myself "what if?" That to me is unacceptable.
I know I'm young and naive, and in the grand scheme of things, there have been more negative things that have happened in the industry as opposed positive, but to tell someone to not even get into the industry based on your own experiences is just as bad as going into the industry without doing the proper homework first.
If it's really what you want to do, and it is your dream in life, then by all means, go for it and don't look back. While those who never take a chance in life never have to face failure, they don't have to face success either.
If it doesn't work out, make sure you have a backup plan that will allow you to make a reasonable income should you no longer be able to fly for some reason. But if it is your passion in life to fly, and you're serious about it, like I said before, go for it and don't look back.
