RIHLA #23

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Flying Experience

At the beginning of my senior year in high school, I was given the opportunity to have a private flying lesson. I value this experience because I love to embrace unfamiliar experiences and use it as a way to grow. Flying a Diamond Aircraft-40 is something that most people do not get to experience in a lifetime, and by doing this, it led me to have an open mind about seeking new opportunities and embracing new challenges. Looking down from the plane, I saw the whole city of Chicago and how vast and beautiful it is. Seeing this, encouraged me to want to experience the vast opportunities the world has to offer. Although I was only in the plane for a short time, the experience lingers on as powerful symbolism and will continue to be a huge influence on my decision making in the future.

I believe that taking risks in life is the only way a person can learn and succeed. I was very nervous and hesitant when I agreed on taking this lesson. So many questions and thoughts went through my mind like, How high am I going to be up in the air? Does the plane have enough gas? Did the instructor check all of the gears to make sure they were working? How long has this instructor been flying and giving lessons? Will I get sick? How will I land? What would happen if something happened to the instructor? Asking myself all of these questions made myself more nervous and reluctant to get in the air.

The intensity, excitement, adrenaline, and determination are some of the emotions that were running through my mind while I was giving the plane gas and guiding the joystick toward my stomach leading the plane off the ground. During that moment flying through the air, all of the nervousness that I felt had gone away. I was actually extremely calm. Calmer than I thought I would be. I was comfortable because the instructor was next me talking to me the whole way through the process. I was enjoying it so much that time flew by and all of a sudden it was the time to turn around and land the plane. This was the part that I thought I would be really nervous, but actually I came to trust the instructor so much that I was actually really excited to land the plane and was not nervous at all. It was actually really easy.

Flying a DA40 is an experience that I will never forget and would do again in a heartbeat. Facing my fears in this experience and others in the future is something that I will always face and strive to accomplish. Even though it may be challenging, I am the type of person who loves to take chances and risks that other people, including myself, may think is risky and learning from it, so that eventually I will be unafraid of everything that comes in my way. That is what life is all about.

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