If you want to fly, and especially if you want to fly the pointy nose jets, there are some things you can do in you personal life to maximize your potential and abilities.
First of all, you've got to stay off the damned drugs, and keep your nose clean! If you have friends that do drugs, well, you have no business hanging out with them. Those folks will only drag you down into the gutter along with them. Tell them you are boycotting them until they clean up. Some people eventually do grow up and get off of that loser's poison.
Only hang out with positive and hard working people, and go to the local airport and make friends with pilots. Pilots are usually happy to share their flying knowledge with you and the love of flying ! Since pilots usually use both sides of their brain while flying, they have used the right side, which is the creative lobe of the brain. This leads them to being great story tellers, because story telling is a creative activity. This is one reason why pilots are so friendly. Plus they live is a state of passion ! Passion for flying ! Suck some of that energy up.
Stay away from the wrong girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse. The wrong relationship is one of the top career killers among pilots. All too often, a needy partner fails to understand the demands on a pilot, and a pilot's schedule. You will travel a lot, get deployed and even while homeside, fly funny hours at times. We have planes on alert 24/7, and someone's got to man those birds. Stay away from needy girls or guys at all costs, even if it means a broken heart. A busted heart is better than a busted plane or career. The wrong partner can also be a dangerous distraction. The person you need is someone that is able to keep themselves entertained, busy or happy while you're gone. This person has to have a life !
Eat right ! I know people hate hearing that, and so do I. But you must. You depend on your body, and it's endurance and reliability during flight. Don't eat 'heart attack' foods, you know, the keep fried greasy shit. Your career depends on your healthy heart, and the avoidance of diabetes. It's hard in the military and in the world of peers, but it can be done. I stick to clean fresh meat, and fresh veggies, some milk, nuts, some cheese, some fruit and lot's of water. My sin I allow myself is beer. Military canteens have veggies, salads and plain meat usually. Stick to that and save the sin foods for when socializing. If you don't want diabetes to stop your career and well being, stay away from white wheat, white sugar and white rice. I know, it's a bitch doing so, but if you love flying, gotta' do it.
Next, love what you do. You have to truly love these jets, and flying. You have to appreciate what you're doing, and have fun. It's hard work, a bitch sometimes, so that passion is what will carry you through when the going gets tough. If you don't like planes and people, stay out of aviation. Flying is a people job too.
If you don't like other people not like yourself, fighter aviation is not for you. The military brings in people from all over the USA. There are fighter pilots from all races, both genders, from families rich and poor, and from both urban and rural homes. You'll hear all kinds of accents, ranging from New Jersey to New Orleans. If you can't work with this array of people, stay out. Safety and effectiveness requires teamwork, and prejudice will get in the way.
Good luck, and have fun.
I'll write more as thoughts come to my mind. I've been busy lately, so I write here and there.
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