If I had unlimited time and didn't have to worry about money, schedules or other responsibilities, there is one thing I would genuinely love to learn..
I would get my Private Pilot Licence (PPL).... I don't know if most people would immediately consider that an educational course, but I do. You're not just jumping into an aircraft and learning how to fly it...
There is a lot to understand before you can safely take control of one...
You have to learn about aviation theory, weather, navigation, aircraft systems, communication, safety and a lot of other things that I probably wouldn't even understand properly until I started the training and that's actually what attracts me to it
I've always had this interest in aviation. There is something fascinating about being able to sit inside an aircraft, understand what is happening around you and actually have the knowledge and skill to fly it..
I would love to experience that feeling of being in control of an aircraft rather than simply being a passenger looking through the window...
For me, getting a PPL wouldn't necessarily be about becoming a commercial pilot or changing my entire career.
I think I would want to learn it simply because I want to know how to do it...
There are some things we learn because they are financially useful, There are things we learn because our careers demand them, and then there are things we learn because something inside us has always been curious about them...
Flying is one of those things for me... If I eventually got the licence, I would love to use it for personal travel and exploration. Imagine being able to plan a trip, get into a small aircraft and fly to another location instead of always being the person sitting in the passenger seat.. That would be an incredible experience but beyond the actual flying, I think the knowledge itself would stay with me...
Learning to fly would teach me discipline, decision-making, attention to detail and how to remain calm when things don't go exactly according to plan..
Those are skills that are useful far beyond aviation and knowing myself, I would probably become the annoying person who starts explaining aircraft to everyone whenever we're travelling.
"Do you know why the wing is shaped like that?"..
But seriously, if I had the time, I would take the opportunity...
I think adulthood sometimes makes us focus so much on learning things that have an obvious return on investment that we forget about learning things simply because they fascinate us.
Not everything has to become a business....
Not every skill needs to make money, Sometimes, it is enough to be able to say, "I've always wanted to learn this, so I finally did."
I'd love to earn those wings.... not because I need another career, but because there is a younger version of me somewhere who would probably be amazed to see me actually doing it..
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