Well, I have officially been out of Flight Attendant training for exactly 2 weeks today! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. It feels like life is just flying by me and for the last two and a half months I haven't had a second to sit and reflect on all that I have accomplished and be put through and learned.
So first let me officially say, I am a flight attendant with American Airlines. I know I verbally told a lot of people, but throughout training I had to keep an eye on my posts to make sure I didn't mention American Airlines directly nor mention specifics of what was going on in training, which made it really hard to write any blogs. So now that I have free time, I'm going to catch up on all the highlights of FA training.
For my second Work Trip I went to Las Vegas with two more incredible and beautiful people, Melissa and Tiffany. That is one trip I will probably never forget... Talk about how stressed out we were. We worked a 757, it went great. But we ran into some struggles getting on the aircraft, which wasn't exactly the best way for us to kick off our day. BUT IT ALL WORKED OUT! Not only was that morning stressful for all of us, but the night before I spiked one heck of a fever and ended up sitting in class for 3 hours with uncontrolable chills and just all around nastiness. The WORST place to be when your sick is in a classroom, thousands of miles away from your mom and her homemade soup... Just sayin. Luckily, I had an angel in my class that stood in for my mom and got me all kinds of stuff to kick the bug that I had. I more or less broke the fever the night before and then spiked a more mild one the next day. I got crafty and turn my bathroom into a sauna... best idea ever actually, and quite relaxing. By Sunday I was golden and laying out by the pool for 7 hours. Any vitamin C I had missed out on, I made up for that day.
So Saturday was our second Work Trip and Sunday we all had off, and that Monday was Cinco de Mayo but we had our third and final Work Trip Monday so we celebrated Cinco de Mayo a day early by the pool. The hotel staff was the best and helped us get all set up with all kinds of goodies and ice and what not. They really did become our family (since we've moved out of SpringHill, a few of us have gone back to see everyone). Cuatro de Mayo was probably the most laid back day of training any of us had had since we had been there. We had so much fun together on our last weekend at "home" together."
Then Monday came around and I got to go on my third and final trip with my roommate and wonderful friend Grace. We were beyond excited to get paired up together and our trip and crew was AWESOME and absolutely hilarious. All three of the flight attendants were new hires that were still on probation. Which was great because all of their tips and tricks we can actually use on probation, that was extremely helpful. And again, HILARIOUS crew.
.
After my first Work Trip I had decided I really prefer flying FA 1 and 2. FA 1 is that Flight Attendant that works first class, and FA 2 is what we jokingly refer to as "The Galley Goddess". The "Galley Goddess" sets up the galley in main cabin and works the cart with FA 4. FA 4 is referred to as the "Princess".
Really I just like how busy those two positions stay. In first class you're always going. Your service starts the second people board and you are doing something for your passengers until you take your jumpseat to land. There's no time to be board or look for something else to do. Not to mention you don't have to use your tablet, which really is a plus. As FA 2 we stay busy for the most part, we have the responsibility of having everything stocked and ready to go. If we run out of anything during the service we run to go restock.
The tablet is a great tool to have, I just don't enjoy using it like other seem to. It's kind of a pain and I feel like it slows you down during your service. Just my opion :)
Not only did I graduate and get my wings on May 7th, but I also signed my very first lease! THose pictures will come later when that part of my life is in order :)
I have officially been out of Flight Attendant training for exactly 2 weeks today! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. It feels like life is just flying by me and for the last two and a half months I haven't had a second to sit and reflect on all that I have accomplished and be put through and learned.
Most people probably think its kind of a joke, "Why does it take 7.5 weeks to learn to pour a coke, run a credit card, and bake cookies??" Really, it's so much more than that. We are trained to be nurses, bakers, salesmen/women, flow control, direct evacuations, and how to protect and provide security to our passengers and even more behind the scenes. It's pretty intense.
Being a flight attendant has always been something I wanted to do. I'll never forget my trip to Uruguay in 1999 for New Years, the Delta FA was absolutely amazing to Nicholas and I and from that trip on being a FA was something that always tugged at my heart, especially because of the travel. Now I may not have worked my entire life to be a flight attendant, I got that, but I have worked my tail off to get to where I am. I really couldn't be more proud of myself for taking the plunge like I did. I gave up everything that was familiar an comfortable. I left a job that paid extremely well, I uprooted myself from my home and I dropped myself face first in Dallas, Texas. And I can say without any hesitation, this was the best decision I have ever made. I've supported myself 100% and I have received incredible support and encouragement from my family and friends. The only crutch I've left myself to lean on is my faith and in doing so I am in a place that I adore, doing a job that I love and I am surrounded by the most loving supportive family and friends. It has been hard, and it has been stressful and exhausting and emotionally and physically draining, but I truly wouldn't change anything. I have never been so happy on my own and with who I am.
So first let me officially say, I am a flight attendant with American Airlines. I know I verbally told a lot of people, but throughout training I had to keep an eye on my posts to make sure I didn't mention American Airlines directly nor mention specifics of what was going on in training, which made it really hard to write any blogs. So now that I have free time, I'm going to catch up on all the highlights of FA training.
Work Trips
In my last post I had mentioned my base visit and how I had just gotten Dallas as my base. Right after that my girlfriend Gabby and I went onto do our very first "Work Trip". Basically, that's our opportunity to observe what it is we are learning and put what we have learned into action. It was pretty incredible, we went to Ontario California, which I had no idea existed until we found out that's where we were going. We both had a wonderful time working and getting to work together. Not only that but our crew was AMAZING and we couldn't have asked for better people to be with on our first go round.For my second Work Trip I went to Las Vegas with two more incredible and beautiful people, Melissa and Tiffany. That is one trip I will probably never forget... Talk about how stressed out we were. We worked a 757, it went great. But we ran into some struggles getting on the aircraft, which wasn't exactly the best way for us to kick off our day. BUT IT ALL WORKED OUT! Not only was that morning stressful for all of us, but the night before I spiked one heck of a fever and ended up sitting in class for 3 hours with uncontrolable chills and just all around nastiness. The WORST place to be when your sick is in a classroom, thousands of miles away from your mom and her homemade soup... Just sayin. Luckily, I had an angel in my class that stood in for my mom and got me all kinds of stuff to kick the bug that I had. I more or less broke the fever the night before and then spiked a more mild one the next day. I got crafty and turn my bathroom into a sauna... best idea ever actually, and quite relaxing. By Sunday I was golden and laying out by the pool for 7 hours. Any vitamin C I had missed out on, I made up for that day.
So Saturday was our second Work Trip and Sunday we all had off, and that Monday was Cinco de Mayo but we had our third and final Work Trip Monday so we celebrated Cinco de Mayo a day early by the pool. The hotel staff was the best and helped us get all set up with all kinds of goodies and ice and what not. They really did become our family (since we've moved out of SpringHill, a few of us have gone back to see everyone). Cuatro de Mayo was probably the most laid back day of training any of us had had since we had been there. We had so much fun together on our last weekend at "home" together."
Then Monday came around and I got to go on my third and final trip with my roommate and wonderful friend Grace. We were beyond excited to get paired up together and our trip and crew was AWESOME and absolutely hilarious. All three of the flight attendants were new hires that were still on probation. Which was great because all of their tips and tricks we can actually use on probation, that was extremely helpful. And again, HILARIOUS crew.
.
After my first Work Trip I had decided I really prefer flying FA 1 and 2. FA 1 is that Flight Attendant that works first class, and FA 2 is what we jokingly refer to as "The Galley Goddess". The "Galley Goddess" sets up the galley in main cabin and works the cart with FA 4. FA 4 is referred to as the "Princess".
Really I just like how busy those two positions stay. In first class you're always going. Your service starts the second people board and you are doing something for your passengers until you take your jumpseat to land. There's no time to be board or look for something else to do. Not to mention you don't have to use your tablet, which really is a plus. As FA 2 we stay busy for the most part, we have the responsibility of having everything stocked and ready to go. If we run out of anything during the service we run to go restock.
The tablet is a great tool to have, I just don't enjoy using it like other seem to. It's kind of a pain and I feel like it slows you down during your service. Just my opion :)
Easter Away from Home
This was my second Easter away from home. Still not a fan of being away from home for the holidays, however, this year I still spent it with family and my family at home still managed to make it extra special away from home.
My amazing little brother sent me the most gorgeous flowers and the sweetest card a big sister could get. 
And my momma sent the best Easter Basket, Lilly P and wine themed! I mean what gets better than that?!
Our instructors even went out of their way to leave us with a smile and encouragement before dismissing us for the weekend...
Kiwi Ceremony and Graduation
The Kiwi Ceremony is a small ceremony with your classmates and your instructors. We are given a needle, a penny, and a button and then we polish the wings on the monument. These three items are then placed in a basin and represents the start of our new life and a wish that "We may never be caught poor, unkempt or with our hemline down."
Graduation and the Wing Pinning Ceremony was obviously very emotional. After 7.5 long weeks, numerous tests, hard goodbyes, stressful and panic filled mornings and nights, the unknown of what was to come after a test, and the sheer bliss of knowing that you just finished the very last test and all sorts of other emotions just kind of exploded as we exited the auditorium. My friends and I all found each other, ended up in a big huddle and we all proceeded to lose it in front of 10 other classes and tons of guests. It wasn't until then that I had actually allowed myself to cry over anything in about 5 weeks. I had told myself to lock it up and get it done.
For those that know me well, you know I am an emotional person. I will bottle up my emotions for a moment, but at some point I get it all out. However, I've never waited over a month to allow myself a moment to cry. But in that moment, I was with the 5 people I grew closest with, I was saying goodbye to one, and we had all made it through together, and all of it was finally over...
The night before I finally saw my parents for the first time in two months! Graduation day I finally saw Nicholas! I about lost it all over again seeing the three of them and being a family together for the first time in two months. I really couldn't believe how homesick I got while in training, it was kind of ridiculous.
Not only did I graduate and get my wings on May 7th, but I also signed my very first lease! THose pictures will come later when that part of my life is in order :)
I have officially been out of Flight Attendant training for exactly 2 weeks today! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. It feels like life is just flying by me and for the last two and a half months I haven't had a second to sit and reflect on all that I have accomplished and be put through and learned.
Most people probably think its kind of a joke, "Why does it take 7.5 weeks to learn to pour a coke, run a credit card, and bake cookies??" Really, it's so much more than that. We are trained to be nurses, bakers, salesmen/women, flow control, direct evacuations, and how to protect and provide security to our passengers and even more behind the scenes. It's pretty intense.
Being a flight attendant has always been something I wanted to do. I'll never forget my trip to Uruguay in 1999 for New Years, the Delta FA was absolutely amazing to Nicholas and I and from that trip on being a FA was something that always tugged at my heart, especially because of the travel. Now I may not have worked my entire life to be a flight attendant, I got that, but I have worked my tail off to get to where I am. I really couldn't be more proud of myself for taking the plunge like I did. I gave up everything that was familiar an comfortable. I left a job that paid extremely well, I uprooted myself from my home and I dropped myself face first in Dallas, Texas. And I can say without any hesitation, this was the best decision I have ever made. I've supported myself 100% and I have received incredible support and encouragement from my family and friends. The only crutch I've left myself to lean on is my faith and in doing so I am in a place that I adore, doing a job that I love and I am surrounded by the most loving supportive family and friends. It has been hard, and it has been stressful and exhausting and emotionally and physically draining, but I truly wouldn't change anything. I have never been so happy on my own and with who I am.
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