My dad is the most amazing dad on the planet, and I am so thankful and lucky to be called his daughter. My dad has taken every hand that he has been dealt, good or bad, learned from it and used it as a tool to accomplish what he set out to do at the young age of 3 years old. He was never handed things on a silver platter, nor has he ever taken free handouts. I can honestly say that my dad has worked really really hard throughout his life to be where he is today.
You read right, my dad has accomplished the goals that he set for himself when he was only 3. That is one of the biggest reason why my dad is my hero and why I aspire to be like him. My dad knew he wanted to become and airline pilot. He looked out his bedroom window one day, saw a plane, and knew that that is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Some of us are not so lucky in knowing what we want to do, but he was. With this end destination in mind, he went through high school, playing every sport known to man, basically and graduated from high school. He was one step closer to achieving his dreams—I mean, after all, you have to finish school. At 18 he went to college, where he soon decided that the school he chose was not the one for him.
He packed his little VW with everything he owned, rented a UHAUL to load any other belongings and drove 15 hours away to a school in a completely different state that was completely geared towards engineering. He then sold his car, got an apartment and found a job, enrolled in school and bought a bike for transportation. He was the definition of a broke college student. He began his degree in about aeronautical engineering, and then learned about the benefits of joining the army and how they would pay for your school if you served—it almost seemed like a no-brainer.
He enlisted into the United States Army, where after going through more schooling became a helicopter pilot. Now this wasn't his dream, to be in the army or to fly helicopters, but he was flying, and one step closer to flying for an airline company.
After years and years of serving and schooling, through several long deployments, and having a family, my dad has now reached his dream. He has retired from the army and has begun his training for his new job as an airline pilot. I am so incredibly inspired by and proud of my dad. He has accomplished that dream that he had when he was a three year old little boy.
My dad has followed God and sometimes taken the least desirable path, but now he is doing, or will be in a few more weeks, what he has wanted to since he was a kid. This simple fact has taught me that I can accomplish anything that I want to in my life. My goal is to be a pediatric oncology nurse and because of my dad and his story, I know that I can accomplish that no matter what happens. I may not take easiest path, but I will get there if I have two things, faith and a good work ethic. That is why I aspire to be like him. I aspire to be someone that never gives up on their dreams no matter how out of reach they may seem.
Someone that is a role model to their family. Someone that is a genuinely good person that cares about the well being of those around them. Someone that is invested in their children's lives. And most importantly, someone that goes after what they want and doesn't stop until they have achieved what they set out to achieve. My dad is all of these things and so much more, and that is why I aspire to be like him.
