Editor’s note: Many thanks to Micah for writing this piece for Mormon Women. You can also read about Micah on her Mormon.org profile, which we found while getting this post ready! You can also find Micah at her blog, Captain Micah.

Growing up, I simply got used to my family laughing at me when I would run outside to see what was flying overhead. After all, I had known since I was six years old that I wanted to be a pilot. What had started such a dream? Was it the helicopter pilot who landed at the elementary playground for a school assembly when I was in the first grade? He did look pretty cool in that flight suit. I was drawn to every aspect of aviation, and after my introduction to it as a youngster, I desired to do nothing else for work. I loved the idea of flight. Why being in command of a giant pressurized metal tube soaring through the sky ever appealed to my childhood heart, I may never know. I do know that I love what I do, and I am enjoying every second of my job as a corporate jet pilot.

Growing up in small-town Utah didn’t offer many chances to interact with aviation. To overcome that, my mom gave me a wonderful present for my fourteenth birthday…an aviation day camp at the local university’s flight school. After completing a day covering airplane systems, weather, and flight planning, I got an entire half-hour flight in a tiny single-engine airplane. Exhilaration doesn’t begin to describe how it felt to finally be at the controls of an airplane! The smile didn’t disappear for weeks. I was hooked.

Since that wonderful day, I have attained my Private, Commercial, and Airline Transport Pilot Certificates, along with my Instrument, Single-Engine, and Multi-Engine Ratings. I am also a Certified Flight Instructor for basic, instrument, and multi-engine, so I can not only fly it all but teach it all as well. (Pilots are really humble creatures, in case you were wondering. And I know from experience). I really enjoy sharing aviation with easily-excited kids just like me. And the term “kids” is used very loosely there. I am a type-rated Captain in the Hawker Beechjet 400 and flew one for five years before recently switching to a new job flying an Embraer Phenom 300. And, yes…it’s as cool as it sounds.

I am the one in the back of a commercial airliner, hoping that the flight attendant asks, “Does anyone know how to fly this airplane?”

Most weeks for work, I leave on Monday and get home on Friday. Every week is different, which is one of the many aspects of my job that I love. Destinations change constantly, and I get the chance to explore different parts of our beautiful continent. With this new gig, there is even talk of traveling to Europe and the Caribbean. I could be bullied into such situations, if it was absolutely necessary. I am a team player, after all.

I have a blast at work but also enjoy time at home with my loving Hubby. We’ve been together since 2008 when we met in our singles ward and married in the Mesa LDS Temple. It was nice to know that we had the same goals and ideals before we even began dating! Marrying in the temple means I will be with my husband not only for this life, but for eternity. We’ve been promised that things properly sealed here on earth will be sealed in heaven, and I can’t imagine life without my sweet man.

And he does the dishes.

Though I am in love with my occupation of flying a private corporate jet for now, we have goals to grow our family in the future. My incredible mom wasn’t able to be at home to raise her four children, and I am hoping to provide a stay-at-home-atmosphere for my kids. We’re going to have two boys and a girl, in case you’re wondering.

Hubby doesn’t dare hold newborn babies yet, so we aren’t in any hurry. And I’m having a lot of fun flying a jet around the skies, so that doesn’t help, either.

In my spare time (snort), I bake cupcakes with two friends from church. We cater weddings and special events with the most decadent (and not healthy in the least) cupcakes one can imagine. It is fun working with such neat gals and having a creative outlet at home. Using it as an official excuse to eat chocolate doesn’t hurt my feelings, either.

The greatest appreciation for my work comes on late-night flights when I am so close to the beautiful stars in the sky. I marvel that we get to learn and grow in this life and be happy. I know that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ leads to happiness, and that my life is fulfilled and meaningful when I follow the example of my Savior. I feel blessed beyond measure to know that I can kneel in prayer and converse with Him. He knows me personally, and I strive every day to know Him.

I welcome comments and questions on aerodynamics, flight school preferences (North Dakota all the way!), and how to bake cupcakes to perfection. I feel so blessed to live this life and love every second of it. I can’t wait to get to know all of you better, so bring it on.