Dylan--From Dream to Reality

            When we are kids everyone has their dream of becoming a firefighter or a policeman or for some even the President of the United States. Just like most kids I had these similar ideas. My whole family was full of police officers uncles, cousins, and grandparents. However it wasn’t until one January afternoon, at the young age of eight years old, that I truly realized what I wanted to do with my life. My grandparents introduced me into the world of aviation at the Cable Airshow.

            This was only the begging to a lifetime full of hard work and complete joy. Seeing the airplanes do loops, barrel rolls, stalls, flips and all other sorts of aerobatics was just mesmerizing. I begged my grandparents to let me hop into one of those airplanes and go for a ride. So just like any loving grandparent with a cute “innocent” grandson, they propped me up into that airplane and said goodbye for 15 minutes while I went on a little tour of the Inland Empire from the air. From then I was hooked. I loved every aspect of the flight from the beautiful scenery, to the calmness of the air, and the sound of wonderful hundred and fifty horsepower Lycoming engine. When we touched down back on the ground and returned from our flight I yelled to my grandparents “THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” I was probably the happiest little boy on the planet at that time. I immediately told them that when I grew up I wanted to be a pilot. But like any kid it was a dream, one that would probably just fade away because it would only be “a phase”. Little did my grandparents know that they would be the cause of my hopeful long-term career. 

            About five years later on my thirteenth birthday I did not forget about my adventure and my grandparents paid for my very first flight lessons. From there I was hooked and there was no turning back. I flew once a month for about two years and loved every minute of it. I truly believed I was a real pilot. But it wasn’t until my sixteenth birthday that I became that real pilot. It was my very first solo flight. My instructor and I went flying and once on the ground my instructor said go have fun and fly around for a little bit. It was the most exciting and terrifying moment of my life. I was the only one in the aircraft flying all by myself, a real pilot. Those dreams from six or seven years ago were now a reality.

            Then a year later I hit the largest milestone in my piloting career thus far. I became a license pilot to fly singe engine land airplanes. This has been the happiest day of my life because I reached the first step in reaching my overall life goal. Every day I thank my grandparents for introducing me to such a wonderful part of my life. I know that they are both watching over me in heaven and everything I do today with flying is to make them proud and I will make sure I reach my goals for them. I am determined to see this dream come true as I know they will be with me every step of the way.