As mentioned previously, yesterday was my first flight since the course. I had had such a strange, out of the ordinary week and that’s something that would usually have me very anxious, but all week had been using the techniques that Vanessa taught us (especially five second breathing) to ensure that my anxiety didn’t take hold. I was pleased and surprise to find that it worked!

Hopping on the plane was a breeze (though I found myself wishing that you all were with me, especially Vanessa with her distraction techniques!) as was push-back and take-off.

During the first hour there were a couple of nervous moments, but instead of letting myself take hold of those thoughts, I flicked them off, breathed, and reminded myself that the pilots were in control.

When the phone dinged my sister asked me I I knew what that noise meant, and I told her the pilots probably wanted their coffee 😉

When the plane turned sharply, I knew we were just following our course, not flipping over! When we started to descend and it sounded like the engines went off and it felt bumpy and there was a big noise, I reminded myself that we don’t need so much power coming into land and the air pressure is changing and the landing gear is going down.

These are all things that would have had me in full-on panic attack mode before. But because I could control my physical reaction by regulating my breathing, I was in a state to remind myself that I knew why everything was happening.

My mum was crying when she met me at the airport. I think she thought she would never see me hop off a plane again! My life has just opened up since completing the course. The sense of freedom is overwhelming. I feel like a new person! No more boundaries! Again, thank you all so much for your support and for sharing your stories post-course.

The day we got to go through the terminal and walk onto a stationary plane, I knew would be a huge test for me personally.

I prayed the night before that I would be calm and welcome the experience and that was precisely how I felt.

The scent on the plane brought back childhood memories and the tears welled of the fondness and instant feeling of why I loved flying, I was so very happy to walk around the plane and even get a peek in the Captains seat!

Going up to the airport tower was another moment where I was completely embraced in the experience of feeling the honor of being able to do such.