Why I want to FLY.

An excerpt from the fantastic book I found randomly on amazon.com... "Flying by the Seat of my Pants: Flight Attendant Adventures on a Wing and a Prayer"...

On why Marsha Marks wanted to be a flight attendant, and really... why we ALL do...

Her friend, Janie, took the time to talk with her out loud about her dreams to try and find out what she ultimately wanted to be "when she grew up". (Don't we all say that?) This is what they came up with...

"Marsha, let's pretend. Let's say you could choose ANY job you want. Not the ones you've been applying for, but any job. Any job in the world. Describe to me what that job would be like."

"Travel. And lots of it," I said immediately. I love pretending.

Janie was writing down everything I said, so I continued, "And I wouldn't have to pay for the tickets or the hotel or the food." I was on a roll. "And I'd have no responsibilities once I got to the destination. I mean, this would not be traveling to corporate meetings. I'd be on my own to be a tourist when I got to the destinations."

"Where do you want to travel?" said Janie.

"Everywhere. London, Madrid, Rome, New York, San Diego."

"And," Janie prompted, "what else? Come on, we're dreaming here."

"I wouldn't be forced to do any paper-type work: no reports to write, no resumes to review, just a job I would never take home with me, like being a waitress- only for more money. And it needs to have some glamour. And (editor's note: this is my favorite part) I don't want to work for more than fifteen days a month and still make enough to live on." (This part sounds so unrealistic, but in our profession, it's the norm. I can't imagine going back to anything BUT having a stretch of days off after you're working such long days in a row...)

"I'd have tons of time off to write the great American novel. And I'd get to meet lots of interesting people, and I'd never have to work with the same people over and over, and- "

Janie interrupted me. "It's what I thought," she said. "You need to be a flight attendant. It's the only job for you."

"But I have no idea how to get hired for that job!", I said. And I didn't.

None of us did! But look at us now...

Cheers!
-Lisa :-)