I’m going to stick my neck out today. I’m going to talk about something I’ve been avoiding for certain political and professional reasons for some time now. A topic that is close to my heart. As it turns out, aircrew are extremely reluctant to talk about mental health. On the rare occasions I’ve brought it up, I’ve seen Captains visibly squirm in their seats. They … Continue reading The Elephant in the Cockpit
We don’t always end up where we intended in life. Sometimes, we are made to divert long before reaching our final destination. Other times we may complete the journey only to find the airport is closed on arrival, forcing us to divert at the last moment. Whether it’s some kind of emergency or our own health that forces us to come back to earth, the … Continue reading Diversion
A couple of weeks ago, just past midnight on July 5th, I took off out of Hong Kong, flew across the Pacific Ocean, crossed the International date line and arrived in Los Angeles at 10pm on July 4th. There are few approaches during my ten year career I can think as memorable as that one. It was like descending into a war zone. Thousands upon … Continue reading Homesick
“We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. I’ve been thinking about hate recently. Not only because we’ve see so much of it this past year, but because I’ve felt some as well. Truthfully it got to a point preceding the US election where it broke me a little. I thought I was clear about where … Continue reading How To Make Love To Hate
In my quarantine story I talk about how I have managed to cope so far and the thought process that helped me in doing so. Continue reading My Quarantine Story – Fix Your Perspective
Hi everyone! Until recently, I have struggled with the idea of an ‘uncertain future’. I grew up in a family of government workers. In Turkey, if you work for the government, you are guaranteed for life. You have job security, full health care coverage etc. So, I valued guaranteeing things. But I also have this side of me which sort of does not want to … Continue reading Living with Uncertainty
