The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 10 OCTOBER 2019 | Page 9

FEATURE Courtesy Photos Gabrielle takes a practice jump off the plane in case of an emergency evacuation. can miss one on the written test and one on the oral test.” The rules were clear. There were a certain amount of points received that could result in termination, and if we were out of compliance, we would be sent home immediately. I felt like I was in the military. The written test was given in one room and the oral in the other. I wasted no time filling in the answers. I knew this stuff like the back of my hand. I gathered all my belongings and headed to the next exam. One instructor sat in front of me waiting to hear the safety passage. I got through the 3rd paragraph and froze. I did not know the rest. I just kept it real with her and told her I dropped the ball. She assured me that I would have another chance to redeem myself tomorrow morning. As I went back into the first exam room, I noticed 3 people were gone. We were now a class of 12, and this was not a joke. Immediately, I went back to the hotel at the end of the day, shut off my phone and studied that safety passage until my eyes burned. I had one more time to mess up on a verbal. I had to understand it and recite it verbatim, otherwise, I would have failed. The next morning an Uber was called to pick me up without the rest of the group. I prayed and began my speech as soon as I got to the training room. I passed with flying colors, but ... I only had one lifeline left. We were given a list of five bases/ hubs to choose from. Keeping in mind that we may not get our preferred city. I picked Las Vegas. I was close to my mother who resides in California, and it was the least expensive and more exciting than the other 5 cities. It was also the most junior base for my airline, so I knew that my seniority would come up quickly and I wouldn’t be on reserve forever. Everyone in my class got their first pick. We were excited, but I was confused at how and why I was moving across the country again! I bonded with a woman who was previously a flight attendant for another airline. I felt like she knew everything, and she and I became study partners. Each day we sat in a classroom for 9 hours being flooded with unfamiliar information. After class, we would go back to the hotel, study more, and get a couple of hours of sleep before the next exam. I called home every day. I needed encouragement because it had been a while since I’ve had to study anything. I knew that I only had one written test I could fail, and I was just hoping that everything else came naturally to me. Week one down and another was sent home. Lucky number 11! Week two got tougher and my Oct. 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 9