Written By Kalpitaa Rajesh (Grade 10)
What are the skills and traits required to become a pilot? Good communication skills, leadership qualities, situational awareness and needless to say, hands and legs. But do you know that there is a triumphant woman who is armless, yet a pilot? She created history by becoming the world’s first Armless Pilot. Her accomplishments have earned her invitations from six continents and got her featured on TV programs like Inside Edition, Fox and Friends, CNN, BBC and the most glorious Guinness World Record medal. We can never imagine doing our daily routine without our arms and she is not just a pilot, she is a keynote speaker, an advocate, a writer, a mentor, a diver and a motivational speaker too. She has also earned two belts in Taekwondo. In a nutshell, she is a fearless innovator. She is the definition of inspiration.
Sometimes we are down in the mouth because we might have failed to achieve our goals. Most of the time, it’s the human tendency to blame the circumstances around us. We continuously hear stories of inspiring people that tell us how they handled their situations and each one is different and inspiring in their own way. No matter what the tales are, there is always learning – you can achieve everything that you set your mind to.
Jessica Cox is the biggest evidence of this. She was born, armless, in 1983 in Sierra Vista, Arizona, this marvellous woman has learnt to live her life with her feet. Many were ambivalent if she would be able to live an ordinary life. She had a motivating father who never shed a tear about her birth condition. He had full trust in her potential. With the support of her encouraging parents and family, she became sure of herself and carried on to traverse the world with her feet. She never surrendered her dreams. She never let her fear divert her from her goals. Her most renowned accomplishment was learning how to fly. It took nearly three states, four aeroplanes, two flight instructors and a dispirited year to find the right aircraft.
She now travels around the globe sharing her story and inspiring people to be imaginative with the slogan “think outside the shoe.” And her narrative is just a further demonstration that you have to believe no matter what happens to you. She is proof that there is nothing in life we will not be able to achieve as long as we have the right approach and are ready to face all that is going to come the way. As Jessica Cox said – “SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT.”
Featured Image Courtesy – Rose Law Group Reporter