How flying has changed my life

I have been flying in small planes all my life. As a kid I flew with my uncle as often as I could. I was addicted. But it never occurred to me till I took the controls for the first time have life changing it could be. You see coming out of high school I was your typical high school kid. I wasn't focused, I didn't know how to sit down and solve a problem, and I wasn't that good at thinking on my feet. I mean I thought I was bout flying taught me otherwise. You see forces you to learn alot of habitats that not only help you in the cockpit but also in the real world. First off flying taught me how to sit down and get something done. I didn't have someone to teach me about flying. I had to sit down and read book after book to gain the knowledge that I needed to be a pilot. I mean I could ask my instructor questions but he wasn't there 24/7 to hold my hand. I actually had to make the time during the day to sit down and get the work done. That was a huge step for me. All throughout high school I waited til the last minute to get a assignment done. But in flying you just can't do that. There is so much that you must learn first before you can accomplish a task in an airplane. If you don't understand the core concepts of flight you won't understand why certain things work they way they do up in the air. In this aspect flying taught me to be disciplined. That trait has carry over to my college studies. I had no second thought about taking Internet classes in college because I knew I could sit down and read the material. Flying also instills a certain confidence in you. There is nothing like your first solo. The day that your instructor gets out of the airplane and says OK now go do three landings by yourself. I remember when he got out the plane I was so excited. I taxied up to the runway lined up and put the throttle all the way in. At 50 knots I rotated and I was flying all by myself. But then it hit me. I'm in a airplane and I'm ALONE! The first landing by yourself is very nerve racking. You just pray that you get it on the ground without bending something. Same goes with the first time you fly in the clouds without your instructor. When your instructor is in the airplane you have a sense of safety because you know that if anything goes wrong he is there to help you. But when you get up in those clouds alone for the first time and have to trust everything you have been taught your heart is beating a thousand times a minute. But it is these events that build confidence. Not just in your flying ability but in your self esteem .I used to be the guy who was afraid to ask questions in class and afraid to call a girl. Flying changed that. I'm now the guy who sits in the front of the class and asks probably more questions than the teacher cares to answer. Flying has made me a better person and I hope these pictures will inspire one of you to chase your own dream and become a pilot.