November 14th, 2018

It all started with some pictures.

7:30 AM: On a whim, I post some deployment pictures that I had in order to try to tell my story on Imgur.com, an image hosting website. I had, just the day before, found out that Gift of the Shaper was a finalist for the 2018 Best Book Awards, so I included that in the post.

11:01 AM: I’m notified that my post had gone viral with around 770 upvotes. Eventually it would peak at around 4,400 upvotes and 120k views. Crazy, right?

Hang on. It gets crazier.

November 16th, 2018

2:20 AM: I get an email from someone at BoredPanda saying they saw my Imgur post, and would like me to submit a similar article for them. I freak out, but ultimately oblige.

9:00 AM: After some retouching of the Imgur article, I submit it on BoredPanda where it does moderately well. I give it more or less no further thought.

November 20th, 2018

My official date of separation from the military. I am now a veteran.

December 4th, 2018

4:27 AM: (Why do these people insist on keeping such strange hours?) I get an email from a journalist in London, Danielle O’Brien, who saw my article on BoredPanda, and wants to do an interview with me, and maybe make it into a bigger story.

Once again, I freak out, but I ultimately oblige. I listened to some friends, too, who told me that the original terms of the deal (see picture below) weren’t the greatest. I write back, and Danielle agrees.

December 11th, 2018

7:01 AM: I do a phone interview with Danielle where we talk for almost an hour. She gets details of my life and training, my writing career, and some information about my mom and dad (also USAF veterans). She says that the article will be launching around the 18th, and I get more excited than a golden retriever around a baby (I just typed that phrase into Google and that was the first result).

I never say I am a pilot. This is important, because I am not a pilot.

December 14th, 2018

9:03 AM: I get another call from Danielle where she reads me the rough draft of the article. I fact check her on a few things (locations/times of my deployments, my parents ages, etc.) and also note that she referred to me as a “pilot” in the article, but I’m actually enlisted aircrew. Two separate things, for those of you who don’t already know that. Think race car driver versus race car passenger who fiddles with the radio and tells funny stories during the drive.

Danielle makes a note of this.

December 18th, 2018

8:30AM: I find out that they have mistakenly emailed out a copy of the article which still refers to me as a pilot. I think this is hilarious.

^haha it looks like Facebook cuts off the preview, but it says, “In the first sentence of the article, they refer to me as a pilot.”

December 19th, 2018

6:05 AM: Danielle emails me saying that my story had been picked up by Virgin Media, and they are running the article about me. I am still asleep when the email comes in, but I think my subconscious hears it.

6:17 AM: My dumb subconscious wakes me up, and I reach over to my phone to see the email from Danielle. I give it a read — loved it — and notice that they errantly refer to me as a pilot.

6:18 AM: I am still not a pilot.

6:19 AM: I share the post to facebook, and wish it the best.

It’s 3:55PM now as I type this, and I’ve already had a few friends of mine reach out on my behalf to news agencies, facebook groups, and even a political pundit.

Check out my friend Dave’s book, written while deployed in terrifying war zones. Dave’s sacrifices are heroic and his love of Country heartwarming! @realDonaldTrump We need to support Men and Women like Dave! https://t.co/b8BtchKTbV via @Xpose

— Sophia Lisek (@SophiaLisek) December 19, 2018

Needless to say, it’s been a long and crazy day. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible, and I promise to keep you in the loop. But, as a piece of advice, don’t get on a plane with me if I tell I can fly it.

I’m still not a pilot.

UPDATE:

December 20th, 2018

8:00 PM: I see an article posted to guacamoley.com once again referring to me as a pilot. Once again I think it is hilarious and share it on facebook.

In the post, one of my friends makes a joke that I might as well accept it, and should enroll in pilot school.

I joke back, saying “if this gets 30 shares, I will enroll in pilot school.”

Can you guess what happens next?

Here’s a hint.

It took ONE HOUR.

Apparently all my friends really want to see me become a pilot for real. So that’s happening.

If you want to follow the conversation on facebook, feel free to pop in and say hi!

(Still not a pilot).

-D.L.