Youngest Woman To Captain A Boeing 777 & Now A Lawyer, Anny Divya Is The Definition Of Persistence
chaitra krishnanMA (Journalism & Mass Communication) Experience: 5 yearsChaitra has a triple main bachelor’s degree in journalism, communicative English, and economics from St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from St... more
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“Persistence is the key to success”— this good old saying is true for almost everything in our life. If you want something bad enough, persistence is the one thing that will lead you to it. There’s nothing else that can replace hard work and will power. No matter how hard things get or if you have to drop all your plans and start again from scratch, persistence will become the motivation that you need. Nobody in this world ever achieved anything meaningful on their own without walking through the journey of persistence. All of the real-life heroes will have the same story if you take a closer look at them— the story of never giving up. One such is the journey of Anny Divya who is a pilot as well as a lawyer. Tough combination, right?
Anny Divya became the world’s youngest woman to captain a Boeing 777 airplane, which is the world’s largest twinjet with a seating capacity of up to 396 passengers! Anny’s dreams to become a pilot and then a lawyer came true only because of her sheer determination. Even under the pressure posed by challenges like weak financial background, an unfair society, and weak communication skills, Anny succeeded and here’s how.
The Childhood Dream To Fly
Anny Divya was born in 1987 to an army family. She and her parents lived close to the base camp of the Indian Army in Pathankot, Punjab. Later on, the family settled in Vijaywada, Andhra Pardesh where Anny completed her schooling. Anny dreamt of becoming a pilot since she was young. Well, “I want to become a pilot” is one of the most common answers you’ll get from any primary school kid if you ask them what they want to be when they grow up. However, as they grow up, most of them forget about this dream because becoming a pilot is not as easy as wishing to become one. But Anny fought against all the odds to make sure that she lived her childhood dream.
“In school, I was taught to read & write in English–but spoken English was rare. In class 9, a teacher asked me to write 10 things I wanted from life & I took it seriously. The first thing was to become a pilot & the second was to become a lawyer. Someone told me that I had to get above 90% for that so I worked hard & got a 100 in everything. I was that passionate,” said Anny in an Instagram post by Humans of Bombay.
Passion is one thing many of us have when we’re young. But fulfilling the needs of that passion is often difficult and filled with sacrifices. Sadly, not all of us have the grit to swim against the waves and we end up choosing the easy way out. Just like any of us, Anny also had many hardships to overcome. She wasn’t one of those silver spoon kids and had a tough time getting the resources that she needed, in order to become a pilot.
“But there was social & financial pressure on my parents. It was an unconventional field for a girl. It was expensive–but they used their savings, took loans & overcame it to send me to flight school. I worked harder–for them,” Anny said. We’re glad that Anny had super supportive parents who became the backbone of her dream to fly. Also if you live in India, you can imagine how much Anny would have been taunted by the people around her for choosing a career option like aviation at the time.
It wasn’t just those problems that set hurdles in front of Anny. Her weak spoken English became a reason for her classmates to taunt her. Having come from a financially humble background, things weren’t as easy for her as it was for the rest, during those days. However, she never gave up and flew ahead, leaving behind all the faces that mocked her.
“Flight school wasn’t easy. People teased me when I spoke in English and how I spoke. But instead of hiding, I learned from them & perfected my English. I was so happy to be there–that got me where I needed to go. I didn’t worry about the future–I just learned along the way & kept going,” Anny recalled.
Pilot At 19!
Soon after Anny Graduated, she got a job even before she got her license. Later on the same day, she got her license too, making her a 19-year-old pilot. She became a first officer after her training in Spain. And at 19, she signed up for the journey to her next goal— becoming a lawyer. She came back to Mumbai and joined an LLB (Bachelor of Law) course. As expected, it wasn’t easy to juggle work and studies for Anny. But she was already familiar with the tough life. “I’d attend classes whenever I was here. Even if my flight landed at 2am, I’d go to class at 6am! I’d study during my breaks on flight–I couldn’t be stopped!” Anny said in the post.
A decade later Anny was able to pay off her loans and she also supports her siblings’ education. She travels the world and takes her parents along too. “Now with most things crossed off that list, I’m making a new one–because the best is always yet to come!” said Anny. Did Anny’s story inspire you? Let us know in the comments below.
