The trade I am currently pursuing is aviation maintenance, specifically receiving my airframe and powerplant ratings so I may work on aircraft such as planes and helicopters. As for who inspired me, I would have to attribute that to one of the hosts of a podcast, Gus from Black Box Down. I never thought I would go into a trade growing up. I was more inclined towards history and creative ideas such as writing. I did not do so well when it came to math or science and generally tended to dislike those subjects. But I always felt drawn to those fields when I was asked what I wanted to pursue in life. First a paleontologist, then a vet tech, then a herpetologist. Each dream was given up because I did not feel I had the drive to adequately get the education needed to thrive in those fields. Then I had to visit my brother all the way in Tennesee while my family lives in Texas and we were going to take a plane to do so. The last time I'd been on a plane I was maybe three or four and so did not remember much about the trip. I was scared and nervous about getting on the flight. One day, I was scrolling through a comment thread on social media and saw someone recommend a podcast called Black Box Down. The podcast did episodes on aviation incidents and accidents and went into detail on how things went wrong with discussions on how the industry changed to prevent such a thing from happening again. These episodes eased my nerves around flying and allowed me to have a more relaxed and enjoyable flight that summer. Gus, one of the hosts of the podcast, is my inspiration for pursuing this field. He'd grown up with a fascination for planes that I did not have. His drive to learn more about them and the aviation industry leads him to be as thorough with his research as possible so he may relay the information to his co-host and the audience. Through his passion and dedication, I have found myself also wanting to learn more as well. This last year was difficult for me. I realized regular college was not meant for me and I was not meant to get a standard four-year degree. So I started looking at trade schools. Aviation Institute of Maintenance came up as a result and after touring, and recognizing some of the information and terminology from the podcast, I realized I had found the school and field for me. Gus from Black Box Down has helped me in more ways than I can imagine and I am grateful that I saw the comment recommending it to someone else. Without it, I am sure I would have simply settled for some other field and not been truly happy about it.

My favorite Disney character is Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. I couldn't help but relate to her and her struggles of trying to fit in and make friends with others, only to be seen as weird. Lilo has some strange tendencies that I found being relatable as I had, too, due to being autistic. I would pick at grass, bring my own toys to school, and other things that only involved me since I didn't have any friends to play with. Lilo has trouble explaining her feelings to others, which is apparent when she can't bring herself to talk to her sister, Nani, when she feels she'll only get in trouble. I would often find myself in trouble for wording things incorrectly or not explaining things enough, I even had volume control. But over the course of the movie, Lilo finds her confidant in Stitch, the weird blue alien she thought was a dog for a while. She was able to make a friend in him and even provide a positive impact for him. I didn't find my best friend until 8th grade and we connected over a shared interest only briefly mentioned in passing, but still becoming close as a result of it. We found ourselves able to talk to each other when we felt no one would listen to us and grow together as people. Lilo & Stitch isn't at the top for many people's movie list but it was a comfort to me, knowing that I felt seen in a movie with aliens and spaceships but not be treated as a villain in the plot.

My parents had barely any disposable income growing up. My mom struggled with chronic pain issues that would frequently take her out of work, while my dad worked at Walmart doing the best he could since he did not finish college. With these factors, there was no college fund for me or my siblings and we would have to pay what we could. As soon as I graduated high school, I went into the workforce since I had issues with my community college getting my school email, preventing me from fully enrolling. Then when I finally enrolled, covid hit that spring and I did not handle the transition to online well. My life went into a downward spiral, I did not know what I wanted out of life or the kind of career I would be happy in. It was only thanks to writing that I was able to keep my head up, delving into various worlds kept me focused on other things. But I've now found the career I want to go in. Becoming an aviation technician is what I want to do with my life with the goal of supporting me and a possible future family. Being comfortable with a lifestyle and not having to worry if I can afford my next meal is all I could want out of life. I want to make aviation a more welcoming field for women, prompting a change so that people don't think that only men can be in this position. Trade schools and STEM fields are notorious for making women feel that they don't belong and driving them away. Giving talks at schools, showing that someone like me can join a men dominated workforce, will hopefully lead to more young women going into the career that interests them. Without the fear of feeling unwelcome, one day.

When I was 17 years old, I got a call from my little brother at home. My cat was stumbling around and banging into walls. My mom and I rushed home only to find my cat had collapsed and passed before we made it home. Losing her in such a way devastated me, we no longer had any pets in the home due to losing our two dogs in the two years prior. I knew I couldn't live without a pet so we went to a shelter soon after Fifi was buried. There were only three cats up for adoption, a beautiful Birman who was the sweetest cat one could know, an ex-feral who hissed at us, and a small kitten who had no one else with her. The kitten came home with us and we named her Kiki. she grew into a cat with a much louder voice than Fifi and a lot less cuddly, but the few times when she does want affection are the best. She's been with me through an eviction, the struggle of finding an identity for myself, and the uncertainty of the future, and all I can ask for is that she be with me for the years to come with my education.

Snickers came into my life when I was three years old, and she was three at the time as well. Snickers, who we later came to find out, was a Boston terrier-chihuahua mix and she was one of the most energetic dogs one could have known. The few times she managed to slips past our legs and run down the street were the times we knew we'd be in trouble. She could run fast and far despite her age and short stature. She lived to be 16 years old and never knew anything but love from our family. She always had sweaters for the winter, toys to chew on, and even a bed that we had originally gotten for the cat. She loved to play and cuddle when times were tough, even when times were tough she always had the time to lay on our laps to bring us comfort. The only thing I wish I could change, was that we had more pictures of her around.

Growing up, I didn't have a big appreciation for how aircraft worked. My family never had the money to go on trips, much less one that involved flying, and so I never had the chance to take in planes. But, my parents signed up my brothers and I for a group called Challenge Air, an organization that got to take special needs kids up into small planes like a cessna to see the area. Going on those flights made me so curious about planes even though the true interest wouldn't show up until I was much older. Growing up near the Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and having a parent work there, meant that there was never a shortage of seeing planes. Especially low flying planes. Asking my dad questions about his job and stories he had of passengers only served to bring more curiosity on the subject Then, in May of 2021, my family decided we would be visiting a brother who lived out of state. At that point, the last time I was on a commercial aircraft was when I was three, so I had no idea what to expect when I would get on the plane. I was scared and unsure of the entire process of just getting to the flight and then being in a metal tube in the air for two hours. But then I found a podcast that talked about aircraft crashes and incidents that put me at ease. Planes just didn't fall out of the sky for no reason, it was always a chain reaction, a series of failures, that brought a plane down. I consumed the podcast, then started watching videos on how planes fit together, plus so many other avenues of finding information. I truly wanted to know all I could, but lacked the knowledge or guidance to get started to see the parts and where they went. How was one meant to learn all of this without proper education? And that's where I find myself now. I finally figured out that the regular college program wasn't meant for me and decided to go for a trade. I found an aviation maintenance school near me and I'm now fully committed to learn all I wanted to know before, plus more! I know that this path is the one meant for me and that I will one day become a technician who will proudly work on any aircraft I come across.