Soaring through the skies used to be a dream for us. Now, it's a reality. Over 2.5 million people fly commercially in and out of the U.S. daily. This is small compared to before COVID-19, when over 4.5 million flew daily. I plan to become an airplane technician working out of Southwest Airlines to help more planes be available for flights daily. For example i want to help prevent things like in the summer of 2024, many flights were canceled or delayed due to a lack of staffing and a lack of available planes. I was personally affected by a 10-hour delay on a flight coming out of California. While in the airport, I saw many other people frustrated by these cancelations and desperately trying to find a new open flight home. That memory has stuck with me since then; that memory came into play this summer at my aviation camp, where we talked about the fight cancelations and the lack of pilots and mechanics. As soon as I saw the inside of an airplane while waiting on a small aircraft flight, I knew I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic. It's fascinating to be able to figure out what went wrong in vehicles and fix them; while I have been doing this in auto mechanics, I know aircraft technician would provide me with a more significant challenge. I know it would also let me help people have better wait times at airports that have been notoriously awful for the past few years. I want to change the stigma around airports and make travel less stressful by knowing exactly what time your plane will be ready. Travel should be an enjoyable experience for people to look forward to. It should be kids pointing to planes and getting excited adults too. Adults can plan to exact schedules. Pilots are relaxed, knowing their aircraft are in good condition and there are no mechanical faults. I know that I want my pilot to feel secure and others to be secure in whatever plane I’m in when flying to keep things safe and calm. If people don’t trust an airline, its staff, and its planes then we'll have fewer and fewer flights and more people on the road. I want to help change this, becoming an airplane technician is my dream and even if it’s not directly working with people it's definitely helping people.

1. I am trying to become a plane technician and am taking an Airframe & powerplant program. I am passionate about this program because I love to work with my hands and solve problems both of which being a plane technician gives me. I am doing an automotive class in school that allows me to work on live vehicles, but ever since I saw the insides of a small plane at an aerospace camp I haven't been able to shake the feeling that working on planes is what I am meant for. 2. My current plans after finishing the program are to apply to airline companies or wherever I can work on planes. I next plan to work and save up enough money to move in with my boyfriend and if needed move to another job at a different airport. I then plan to work and focus on getting raises and better positions. During this time if I need I want to go earn my pilot's license for small aircraft. Depending on whether I excel with larger aircraft, older vintage planes, or smaller planes I would like to specialize in certain planes. If I excel in larger aircraft then I would like to keep working for airlines and become a lead technician. On the other hand, if I succeed in smaller aircraft I will try and go teach at a college. My third option is to work on older vintage planes because they still need maintenance too and I remember how I felt seeing a P-38 Lighting take off at the National Museum of WW2 Aviation in Colorado. 3. I've had to deal with adversity my whole life but not from other people. For me, my own thoughts have been a challenge to handle and at times have prevented me from going for what I want, making new friends, and being able to go and have fun. I deal with PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety all stemming from a rough childhood. I lived with drug-abusing and neglectful parents, lived on the streets, in a foster home for a year, and just in general really bad circumstances. I now live with my mother and her boyfriend after being adopted by my grandparents when I was eight. I am currently working with a therapist and psychologist to help me deal with my past and the issues that it has left me with.

Mental health has always been a challenge for me as long as I can remember. Growing up I lived in an RV with neglectful parents and never understood what was happening or why people would suddenly be gone. When I was seven my sister and I were put into foster care for a year before being adopted by my grandparents. When I started high school, I was terrified of being alone and scared of making friends. My engineering class was where I made my first friends, named Anslee and Olesea. I quickly learned that Anslee was very upfront about how they felt. Anslee would tell me when they needed space and when they saw I was trying to put distance between us. They could see that I was in a bad place mentally and started encouraging me to go to therapy. When I started therapy, I had a hard time opening up until my third therapist. I have been with her for almost a year and a half and have learned that I struggle with anxiety and depression, among many things. We have been working through many of my issues most of them being rooted in fear. While I struggled to name my fears, I learned to start writing down my negative thoughts as they appeared. Listing down my thoughts allowed me to see a connection between all of them. I'm terrified of being alone. I learned that my getting attached quickly to any authority figure was because I was desperate to keep a parent that wouldn't leave. I cut them off as a safety measure to make sure I wouldn't get hurt by them leaving, and I could believe it was me who left first. I realize my fear of abandonment and tendency to self-sabotage and am working to change my thoughts and self-sabotaging habits. Making self-change is hard, but I'm taking small steps towards being okay with people coming into my life without fearing they'll leave and be mad at me. Attending space camp was the first time I realized I had improvement. While at this camp i made a small group of friends and even started dating one of named Bryce. Starting a relationship was scary especially since it was long distance, I feared he would be angry about my limited time to spend with him and end up leaving me. My thoughts worsened until we finally sat down to Facetime and have a serious conversation where I shared my fears. When he heard my fears he was confused but supportive. He made me realize that many of the thoughts in my head were based my childhood and now their is not proof that any of my thoughts would ever come to life. When I talked to my therapist on that she was very happy for me and now were working on getting me to trust that I can rely on others. When I started therapy I never thought I would share any of what I learned with others. I have recently realized that I was very wrong because I have caught myself giving the advice and calming techniques to freinds and random kids at school i've seen panicking. I also realized that I have become more vocal about my story and what i've learned. I didn't start this intentionally but I do now because my uncle expressed his thankfulness for me sharing my experience with his children who grew up more sheltered then most. My experience is providing his kids with a new perspective to use in their own lives.