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Milestones: Making It Through Year One
The sky is grey and the sun can’t figure out whether to show herself or not. The bus bumps along, me with it. We are weaving our way through a morning that, honestly, looks like any other morning.
Except that I’m secretly grinning. No, actually, grinning for real.
Today is my one year anniversary of being a flight attendant.
I tug my threadbare skirt down as the ragged slip shows. My cardigan has been washed one too many times. My luggage, if it could talk, would ask to be put out of it’s misery. I apply my lipstick in the reflection of my iPhone and wonder if I can get one more trip’s use out of “Pretty Persimmon.“
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I’m riding the bus to work still, to save money on gas. It’s not glamorous. Very little about this job is. But this job makes me happy.
It’s been a long three hundred sixty-five days. I’ve given up a lot for this career. I’ve broken down twice, wondering if I should walk away from it all.
But I didn’t. I haven’t given up.
The money has been one of the hardest parts. Not having enough money to pay bills, maxing out credit cards and surviving on (at times, literally) beans and rice for an entire year has made me more aware of material things and what is really necessary to survive. Grocery shopping takes me longer when I’m trying to mathematically figure out how many days $15 will feed me for.
But I’ve been lucky. I have wonderful friends, an incredible boyfriend and a sweet old cat that have supported me when I thought I was ready to give up.
If you are thinking about being a flight attendant, please read this. And this. Oh and also this. And watch this. And read any article you can describing how tough that first year is going to be. And then multiply your expectations of roughness times ten. I don’t want to scare you away from this job, but you have to prepare yourself.
But with all the tough stuff comes the amazing: You get to travel the world. You make the most amazing friends. You find a confidence you never thought you processed. You earn your wings.
You fly.
I did it. I survived.
And you can too.
Today I begin a six-day trip as an official, off-probation, full-fledged line-holding flight attendant
(And I get a raise too!)
Let’s go places.