The beginning to forever

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog!

I'm Jameelah and this blog is all about my journey to flying. Although I am not a pilot (yet), I would love to inspire and help others along my journey. Around ten years ago I decided that I wanted to be a commercial pilot. However, I was a young girl with an African heritage and growing up in Wales. I am not saying that these were boundaries, but I hadn't met anyone like me with the same aspirations. Representation was missing, so I did not think my dream was attainable. Not only that but have you seen the price tag that comes along with gaining your ATPL? Yes, it’s quite literally out of this world. However, this has not stopped me from dreaming big!

Before starting my pilot training, my main goal was to get a degree. This was a natural step to take as I have always been academic. I wanted to study aeronautical engineering as it pulled me closer to the aviation industry, but physics was not my forte after my GCSEs. So, I studied my favourite subject Mathematics instead! Studying Maths was not an easy ride and boy did I learn the true meaning of resilience - (that’s a story for another day)! After 6 years of on and off studying, I achieved a 2:1 in BSc Mathematics in July 2022 and it’s my proudest achievement yet. But now I have finished that journey, a question often asked is “...but what next?”. That's where I'm at now as I’m here to share with you, my journey.

Right now, I might not be at the physical point of flying to become a pilot. But I’m at the point where I can finally start meaningful research, visiting different flying schools, meeting people and most importantly, asking as many questions as possible! Quite often, I see pilots online sharing their life of being a pilot and talking about being a part of the aviation industry. But it’s not often that you see someone documenting their journey before they actually start their training.

Doing your research beforehand can be super overwhelming. I remember going to my first Pilot Careers Live event at 15 and standing next to me in conversation with a flying school were final-year university students. I felt intimidated and thought I was too young to be there, as I didn’t even know the difference between integrated and modular routes. Long story short - I felt lost. But now I understand that it’s certainly never too early to start your journey and never too late!

Join me on my journey to learning the ins and outs of flying, different pathways to becoming a pilot, and just getting to know me in general! I hope to make my platform a safe space for people to ask questions and to create a community of aspiring aviators.

Hope you all enjoy my blog – and welcome to the community!

Warmest wishes,

Jameelah 😊