“Marry me!” he said, more of a demand than a question. He disappeared after only a handful dates only to show up after he heard about what I now call My Project.
Of course he did.
My community is small but not tiny. Once my Facebook page announcing my goal – to be the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine plane went live I knew the local response would be supportive. I wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal, though.
And I didn’t want one. I barely turned 20-years-old last month and the sky is where I belong. I don’t need a man who not only wants to clip my wings, but who wants to freeload off them. I’m aiming for a brass ring, not the diamond ring for my finger.
Flying Before Settling
Local community members are supportive, yet only so much. The general tone is a congratulatory doubt, while those closer to me have privately asked why I am not focusing on what really matters: marriage and family. I’m not opposed to marriage and family — once I am married and have a family they will benefit from my experiences in aviation.
I’m not saying no to any of that. I’m just saying no to it right now.
What I am saying “yes” to now is aviation. I’m saying yes to more women in the cockpit. I’m saying yes to more women in the pilot population. I’m saying yes to more opportunity for women who are continuously sold on the “male-only” image in aviation by a male dominated industry. I look up into the same sky today as I did when I was a little girl and I feel the same excitement for flying as I did then. [share ]The sky is for equal opportunity dreamers[/share] and I am tired of explaining to people that I am in an aviation program to become a pilot – not a flight attendant.
Flying is For Girls
The current record-holder for circumnavigating the globe is a woman in her thirties. Her flight is just as historical as mine would be, and besides, this isn’t a competition. Every single woman who takes off in a plane is making history and is sending the message that flying is for girls too. Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman to become a pilot (1921) said, [share ]“The air is the only place free from prejudices.”[/share] This message needs to be told over and over again so that each and every little girl who looks up into the blue sky knows she can be up there some day. The glass ceiling can be broken by more than sitting in a corporate chair – a single-engine airplane can shatter it.
Girls and young women need female advocates in male-dominated fields who encourage them and speak to their dreams. They don’t need more men who will placate them with patronizing advertising campaigns that tell them “You can do it! Here’s a pink pen!” Young women already know they can do it; that’s why they are attempting to do whatever “it” is. They want to hear from women who have done it.
Who needs marriage when you’re already committed to the entire field of aviation for women?
Flying Scares Men
Unsurprisingly, my unofficial PR manager, C. Streetlights, and I haven’t been able to receive too much traction when requesting interviews or other media write-ups from men. I don’t know why a twenty-year-old pilot scares men, but it seems like the idea of me circumnavigating the globe is either not interesting or terrifying to them. Isn’t there enough room in the sky for all of us? Or maybe the real question: Isn’t there enough opportunity for all of us?
By the end of next summer, you won’t find me planning a wedding or expecting my first baby. I won’t be dreaming of honeymoons or hoping to catch a bouquet. If all plans go well and sponsorships come through, you’ll find me on the runway waiting for clearance for takeoff. My first stop will be Florida, and then Brazil. My personal fourteen-day flight around the world will begin in hopes that I will inspire a future generation of female aviators. Where these future pilots will take off to once they’ve been cleared is to be determined, but I do know that everyone’s horizon – present and future – guides all pilots to where they need to land.
About Erin Davis:
After flying her uncle’s Cessna 172 as a little girl Erin Davis realized she had no other choice but to walk around Everett, Washington staring in the sky watching airplanes until she was older and could become a pilot. Thankfully, after years of successfully avoiding peril while walking in such manner, the 20-year-old young woman now studies in the Aviation Sciences program at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. She uses her private pilot license to artfully dodge marriage proposals and to plan on becoming the youngest female to circumnavigate the globe.
Erin Davis, Aviator can be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you would like to contribute to her historic flight around the world you can do so at her CrowdRise.
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