Today I’m gonna share a story of a small-town girl with a big dream.
That girl is my cousin Mackenzie and her dream was to become a helicopter pilot.
Now she’s not a cousin by blood, but it’s been a pleasure to watch her grow up and soar… quite literally!
Her story is one that I tell my girls often as it’s full of hope, belief, persistence and hard work.
And better yet it’s a tale of setting your mind to something and actually doing it.
We are all guilty of this… as dreaming is the easy part, but making those dreams into reality is where it gets hard.
But all things are hard… until they become easy.
Since a young age Mackenzie knew she wanted to be a helicopter pilot. When she shared this dream with us we thought it was super cool and we shared in her enthusiasm… but we also held doubt. How often do you hear of a young girl becoming a helicopter pilot?
For me, never, until now.
I guess we had never thought of it, but it wasn’t a traditional job that young people chat to their school counsellor about. It seemed far-fetched… but hey she was young and why not?
I remember teasing her that she could fly in the helicopter and report the traffic for TV and radio as she had such a beautiful face and this could be a lucrative way to satisfy her dream, but my sweet cousin would smile and nod politely as I could tell that she had bigger dreams than just that.
She knew her game plan and she worked hard to get there.
Mackenzie pumped gas at a local marina as a summer job to make money for school. She also worked a server and in the beauty department of a drugstore at the same time all while tucking the money away to fulfill her dream.
She worked… all of the time. Something that most young people her age weren’t doing, but she knew that the long hours and hard work would set her on track to a new life, a dream come true and a career that had always been her passion.
I don’t think she knew going into this dream all of the doors that it would open for her, or maybe she did.
She was set on new heights and no one could ground those dreams.
Mackenzie was to attend school up North, a remote location with no friends or family close by and yet when her chance came, she packed those bags and was on her way.
It was inspiring.
She had done it.
She had taken that first step.
She was off to attempt something no one I knew ever had. Something that most girls don’t allow themselves to dream of, but she did.
For nine months Mackenzie took this full-time course and graduated with her Canadian Commercial Helicopter License.
She then went on to become a line pilot and VP of Administration at the very school she attended, now helping others to fulfill their lifelong dreams.
Very soon she will also accomplish her Class 4 Instructor rating which is no small feat.
She did it. She is flying. Physically and emotionally because this was her dream to make and her hard work made it a reality.
This summer while on holidays at the beach we were jumping waves and running in the sand when a helicopter passed over head.
“I wonder if that’s Mackenzie?”, my daughter asked and I jokingly sent my cousin a message asking her if it was.
She wrote back instantly that yes it had been.
We were floored.
There she soared.
She told us to stay put and she would circle around again.
The girls and their Grampy made a huge circle of rocks and wrote the word ‘hi’ in the middle in hopes that Mackenzie would see it from the air.
We waited patiently for her to come around again and sure enough she did.
The girls squealed, we all waved and I admit that my eyes filled up with tears as there flew a girl who never took no for an answer, who never gave up, who was determined to make a childhood dream come true and who stood proud in knowing she had done this all on her own.
This weekend my cousin is marrying the man of her dreams who also happens to share her passion.
Helicopters brought them together and now new heights will be achieved.
Her life is the stuff dreams are made of and none of it would have happened without her belief and push in herself.
It’s inspiring as I think we all have that little voice inside our heads telling us to do something, to chase something, to create something… and yet so few of us ever have the courage to do so.
This summer Mackenzie flew my grandma to Manitoulin Island for a holiday and as my 86 year-old grandmother boarded that helicopter she held Mackenzie’s hand tight and beamed with pride.
“I wasn’t scared one bit”, Grandma exclaimed as she re-told the story to my girls. “I knew I was in good hands and as much as it was Mackenzie’s dream to fly a helicopter… it was my dream to one day fly with her.”
People all over the island gathered in lawn chairs to watch the helicopter land on the front lawn and I am sure that they were amazed to see a young, female pilot making a perfect landing… and even more surprised to see an 86 year-old lady get off.
Dreams can come true.
Ambition can buy a pass to happiness.
The words “She will never do it, “… should be answered by, “Oh yeah, just watch me.”
Life is short.
The choices we make determine our destiny.
These two ladies were proof of that.
If this small-town girl had not believed in her dream… none of her happily ever after would be coming true.
But here she is.
So when you see a helicopter fly high overhead, give it a wave, it might just be my cousin Mackenzie.
The world is hers… and what a view she has of it!
No dream is too big.
No goal unattainable.
Mindset is everything.
Ambition is fuel.
So get out there, live those dreams and don’t care about how many people tell you they are silly.
Naysayers are the ones who don’t have the courage to try.
Do-ers are the ones who fall flat many times before they soar.
New heights are always attainable.
We’ve Got This!
@half_full_most_days