Flying High

This is nearly a month late, but I've been swamped with school and work. For my birthday this year, Hailey outdid herself on my birthday present. Something I've been wanting to do for a while now is learn to fly. I've become fascinated with getting my pilots license after seeing Tim McGraw and Dierks Bentley flying their own planes. Granted, I'm not a multi-millionaire who can afford buying his own plane (yet), but I do know that getting my license is within my reach, and I can just rent a plane for the time being before actually buying one someday.

Anyway, back on topic.

The day of my birthday we ditched our only class on Friday, and headed south. Went to Six Flags for a few hours, and then headed south. I had no idea what was going on outside of Six Flags, so all of this was a complete surprise to me. We grabbed lunch and killed time somewhere in LA before I found out about the surprise, and once it was time for my appointment she had scheduled, Hailey was able to surprise me with going to Van Nuys Airport, and going to a full-blown flight simulator for 45 minutes to see just how good I could possibly be at flying. I had no idea until we got there, and all day she had a word puzzle that I was trying to figure out. It turns out that the puzzle spelled out Frank Sinatra's 'Come Fly With Me'. Fitting, right?

So we show up to this hangar, and we meet the instructors of U.S Aviators Flight School, and I think we're just doing the simulator. That alone would have been more than enough for me. I was stoked to learn more about all of this!

I sit down, and this system is the real deal. Pedals, throttle, the whole nine is in front of me and three screens wrapped around me. The instructor goes over all of the basics, and teaches me about the angle of attack, how propellers work cutting through the air, etc. Once we go through the simulator, apparently I impressed him, because even landing the plane I did well. He told me that no one else has done it so smoothly, so I guess I'm a natural!

Once we wrapped with that, he suggested we go out and check out some actual planes and see the difference between the simulator and the real deal, so we roll out to the tarmac, and pull up to a plane, and I'm climbing all over this single engine Piper, completely geeked out about it. Then, Hailey leans in close to me as I'm sitting in the cockpit, and she says, "now you get to really fly".

Jaw Dropped. Heart Stopped.

Me. I get to fly. For real. Like, really start the plane, taxi it, take it off, and fly for an hour. Me.

I was over the moon! This was insane. I couldn't believe that I was getting to fly for real, and only after 45 minutes of ground school. People either must be a bit nutty, or really trust me to do this...

Well, Hailey and the instructor climbed in, and we started the plane up, and I took off, leveled us out at around 4500 feet and we headed over to Camarillo to fly by their landing strip so I got an idea of how descents to land worked, pulled the plane back up to 4500 feet, and headed back. Maybe a 1/2 mile out, the instructor took over to land, but up until that point, it was all me. Which again, he told me that I picked it up really quick, and wasn't over correcting myself a lot, which people apparently tend to do.

The best part was when we landed. I found out that once I get my log book, I'm able to log the first hour and 45 minutes of ground school and flight time in my book. So now, I've got time under my belt as a pilot! I know it's not much, but it's something I get to work towards now!

This present was by far one of the best gifts I've ever gotten, and I can't thank my wife for putting it together, and my in-laws for pitching in on some of the cost. Now I just can't wait to get back to flying again. 

 Below is some footage Hailey shot as well from flying.

Bet My Life

Have you ever had a time in your life where a song clicks with you? Where the lyrics stand out stronger than others, and impact you because of how relatable it is? I'm sure it's happened a lot of times in life. I know with me it has. Recently I downloaded Imagine Dragons' new single 'Bet My Life'. The song could be perceived in a variety of ways, but to me, I see it as a struggle between family. Where a kid goes down a path that the parents didn't necessarily want for him, and how he gave them hell through all the years. But as the song progresses, you hear that the kid says 'theres you in everything I do', so that's why I 'bet my life for you'.

This song hits me. Not just because its driving drumbeats are great, but because of the lyrics. It's story time.

I've always been more of the independent child in my family. I see something, I want it, I go after it, and I get it. I have an insane drive that is fueled by my desire to never settle for second best, and always be the best with the best. Lately, I'm realizing that this song is true for me, because I've given my parents hell through all the years.

The last few years specifically haven't been the easiest. My parents didn't want me to get married so young. They thought I wasn't ready and couldn't handle it. But I pushed ahead anyway. I knew Hailey was the right one for me, and I knew that this was right. So through many months of tense conversations, sometimes yelling, and then not talking, and finally resolving our issues, it's worked out well for our family.

The other part of this is, is that I'm their child. I was raised by them with the values and moral standings to live by. As I grew, and grow up, I see things that I utilize from being raised by them, and others that I find out for myself what works. But, there's 'you in everything I do'.

The thing is, that I realize as I'm growing up, is that I'm my own man. I'm still their child, but I'm first a husband now. I'm the man of my own family. I'm in charge, and I need to lead it as I see fit. My parents raised me with wonderful, great morals and values to follow and utilize. I've done this, and added my own, and done things my own way, as inspired by how they've chosen to raise me. What I'm saying is that I'm thankful for my parents, and I'm thankful for what they've done for my life.

It's hard, because when you're this young, people tend to have a way of looking down on you. Thinking you won't make it, or the way you're doing things are unconventional and wrong. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I believe that no matter what I do, I'm going to make it out better than I was before. I'll be the first to admit that I really can't stand it when I'm questioned by those older than me and they tell me 'you're doing it wrong' (believe me, it's happened). What's wrong about how I'm living my life? Is it wrong that I'm doing things differently than you did? Or is it wrong that you think it's just not how it should be done? As long as the end result is the same, what does it matter if the path taken is different? A man can walk a million trails in the forest, and still come out the other side all the same.

Ultimately what I'm getting at is this: don't forget where you came from. You were put there for a reason, and you are who you are now because of it. Take what you want from what you've grown up with, and use it to your advantage, and make it your own. Be your own unique and beautiful person, and learn to better yourself every single day. It'll help you, and those around you if you do. Also, love your parents no matter what. Some may be terrible and you may not have been raised the best, but again I say, use it to your advantage. See what they did wrong, and change it for your kids. Thankfully my parents were great people, and I use a lot of what they've done with me in my life, but I've also tweaked some things to make it my own as well. Our lives here on earth are too short to dwell in anger and sadness, and not progress individually.