Without her, and partially her husband, this whole process would never have happened.
I grew up in an area where people who joined the military were considered "dummies" who couldn't get into college. Jarhead-y type people who were essentially your typical high school delinquent. Fast forward to now, where I KNOW that every. single. pilot (and officer) has a college degree. HAS to have a college degree. In the Air Force, the only "flight" position that you can have if you don't have a college degree is Boon Operator (the person who lays on their stomach in a refueler [KC-135] and operates the boon - the long stick like thing that goes into the plane being refueled).
View from a KC-135
Anyway. After meeting my sisters husband, I realized that military people (mostly officers but also enlisteds) were actually quite intelligent, well-traveled, and...awesome. I never would have come to this conclusion without my sister.
My sister was also instrumental in helping me study for the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test. When I studied for the SATs and GREs I never bothered to take a practice test. My sister asked me about a month before I took the AFOQT, "Have you taken a practice test?"
"No. I don't have a complete one."
"Well then go out, get a book that has a complete practice test, and take a full practice test under timed conditions"
That day I went out to get a book with a complete practice test. I was scared that I'd do really poorly, but I actually didn't, and it helped me strategize for the real test (especially the parts where you have 3 minutes to answer 40 questions!) I honestly don't think I would have done as well if it weren't for my sister.
Another way she helped: when I was trying to decide between pilot and intel, she was pushing pushing for pilot. Honestly, I hate taking my family's advice. I almost always do the OPPOSITE of what they say, so I kind of bristled against her advice and kept insisting that I would do intel. Not pilot.
I did talk to a lot of guys about pilot vs. intel to get other points of view, and all the guys I spoke with said "Hell yes do pilot! Who cares about the time commitment? It's awesome!" I kind of got lulled into that until my sister said: "Wait. Talk to GIRLS. See what THEY would do." The girls I spoke with were less enthused about pilot. More thought I should do intel, which is why I actually originally was totally 100% for intel. Again, the only reason I switched back to pilot was because I KNEW that if I didn't do it, I would always want to relive this period in my life and actually GO for it.
My sister always thought that I should try for pilot no matter what, and after I waffled and then finally committed, she totally could have said "I told you so!" But she didn't. And that alone, is why she is the best sister ever.
Finally, when I came back from Prague in November, it was 2 months before I was about to take the AFOQT. I knew I would take it no matter what, but when I got back from Prague in November, I wanted to move there permanently. My sister reminded me to think about what my life would be like in Prague, and what it would be like in Air Force. It was a tough decision, but when I really thought about it, I agreed with her that I had to at least give Air Force a shot. Honestly, Prague will always be there. And guess what? In the event that I don't get accepted to Air Force...I will just move back to Prague. It's not a bad contingency plan, right?
Pretend the man beating the other man is a metaphor for me beating all odds and making pilot...
So today I did a bit of cardio, worked as a 7th grade English teacher in the morning and then as a 1st grade teacher in the afternoon, then I gardened a little bit, and then I saw my dad, Ophthalmologist extraordinaire, and got contact lenses to make my vision 20/15 for the test on Monday. I'm lucky to have someone to make my eyes perfect in the blink of an eye (har har).
I do specifically have to thank one more person. I will just call him BH. BH also made me realize that I shouldn't care what people say, and that I should do what I love. And if I'm not doing what I love, I should find out what exactly it is that I love. BH knew that I loved Prague and wanted to move back. However, he also knew my feelings about Air Force. I actually remember a specific conversation that we had one day that I will never forget. He said, "If you got Air Force, and also got a job in Prague, which would you pick?" And I said, "Air Force - because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never have again." He said, "Well, then I think you should study your butt off for the test and do everything you can to get in". BH even tutored me for the math part - he answered every phone call and every question that I had about anything. Which is embarrassing to say, because he helped me so much to be more efficient and to ace it, and it's STILL the part I did shittiest on. Ugh.
Anyway, my sister and BH are only two of the many, many, many, MANY people that have helped me so much along this process. Among others: MC, for answering rando physics questions. SP for being so understanding of my anti-socialness in Columbus. RA and SB for being incredibly supportive of my decision despite the fact that it means I probably won't be in Europe for a while and thus will also not see them for while...My parents and my family for being so understanding and supportive of my 360 degree career change decision. MR for inspiring me to write this blog. And so so so many other people that I need to thank - I can't list them all. Any-hoo. That's all for now.
Actually, one more thing. I will need to re-write my Air Force application personal statement to be more flying-centric (ie: "I love flying. I am committed to flying. I should be a pilot"). Which shouldn't be a problem. Especially because I will be able to have my lovely sister around to proof read it :)))
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