国泰航空美女机长：兴趣和热忱是梦想的起源，取舍和坚持是成功的保证！

ADA AU: Hi, everyone. 

I'm Ada Au, and I'm the co-head of Women  at Google for Hong Kong. 

I'm thrilled to be moderating a very special Talks at Google  with Christina Ho as part of the "Living Your Passion" series. 

The "Living Your Passion" series showcases  outstanding local figures who have  faith in their capabilities to achieve their goals,  and we hope to share their stories about positivity  and resilience to help inspire others to pursue their passion. 

I'm really excited to have Christina here today  to share her story. 

Christina is an airline pilot based in Hong Kong,  and one of the few female pilots in the industry. 

Here's Christina in action inside the cockpit. 

Christina has had a really amazing journey. 

And before becoming a pilot, she was a fine arts graduate  and cabin crew member with no engineering background  or flying experience. 

She's also an illustrator and author and the creator  of the Christina Meow character, and here are  some of her illustrations. 

Warm welcome to Christina. 

And it's so good to have you here today. 

CHRISTINA HO: Hi, everyone. 

So good to be here. 

I'm so excited. 

ADA AU: Great. 

Let's start off with a lightning round of questions, Christina. 

Are you ready?  

CHRISTINA HO: Yes, I'm ready!  ADA AU: All right. 

So coffee or tea?  

CHRISTINA HO: Oh, tea. 

ADA AU: We'll get some to you later. 

We'll get on with the questions first. 

Are you a morning person or a night owl?  

CHRISTINA HO: Definitely a morning person. 

I get really sleepy at evening time. 

ADA AU: So long-haul flight, or short-haul flight?  

CHRISTINA HO: Mm. 

I'll pick long-haul. 

ADA AU: Fixed-wing or helicopter?  

CHRISTINA HO: Definitely fixed-wing. 

A lot safer. 

ADA AU: City break or beach holiday?  

CHRISTINA HO: I do enjoy quietness,  but I also enjoy how the city gives me lots of conveniences. 

ADA AU: Great. 

Drawing or flying?  

CHRISTINA HO: How about drawing about flying?  That's what I'm doing. 

ADA AU: That's perfect. 

And who is your ideal flying companion?  

CHRISTINA HO: I do like traveling with my families,  and especially my mom. 

Because she plans everything. 

I just have to follow her step. 

And one time, she did plan, like, 10 sites in one trip,  like, in two dates. 

I can't do any more. 

But I quite like traveling with her. 

ADA AU: That's great. 

We all need a planner in our life. 

CHRISTINA HO: Mm. 

ADA AU: And what's one thing that you always  bring with you when you travel?  

CHRISTINA HO: I always have extra bags  in my little suitcase, and a little suitcase normally  put into the big suitcase. 

So I kind of maximize boosting my shopping ability  every time when I go on trips. 

But I also bring one thing with me all the time,  not just for traveling. 

I bring a reusable straw with me every day,  because I want to keep my teeth white,  and my dentist taught me how to do this,  and then I just keep this habit for many years already. 

So I always have--  I should just say a pair of straw,  because they are two little ones that you  can ensemble together and become a long one,  so you can drink little pots of Chinese tea  or a big taller, bigger coffee. 

ADA AU: That's a great tip. 

I might have to borrow that one. 

All right. 

We're going to dive in a bit deeper now. 

Christina, can you tell me more about your journey  from a fine arts student to becoming a pilot?  

CHRISTINA HO: Actually, when I--  I actually-- a traditional Hong Kong student in Hong Kong,  and I go to a traditional school, which  is very heavy on academics. 

And when I was in secondary school,  I started thinking, how come all my art class and all my music  classes are gone?  And I just missed those classes so much. 

So I was just looking for ways to have a change. 

But my parents still wanted to keep me in Hong Kong  and wasn't thinking of sending me somewhere. 

So I just go online, fill out a lot  of applications for scholarship, and ended up one coming back. 

And this one sent me to Kansas in the US. 

So that started my high school year in the US. 

And that gave me the flexibility of trying  lots of different classes. 

The art class that I like, or the music class,  even though I don't sing well, and also taking  a lot of different cooking class and stuff,  like, that doesn't have it in Hong Kong in my school. 

So I get to explore a lot, and then I  decided to stay and continue to do fine arts. 

I know that I would do something in arts,  but doesn't know what kind of arts that I want to do. 

So I tried different things. 

I do oil paintings, ceramics. 

I do different kinds of sketching. 

And then, after that, I start seeing my artwork  to be shown to people. 

Then, I start to think, oh, people,  when they look at my artwork--  they just were thinking, what is Cristina thinking  when she is doing all this?  It's kind of like a one-way communication. 

And I thought, I want to do some more connections with people. 

So then, I decided to go into design,  so that I can create something that they can actually  use in their daily life--  maybe a mug, and then they can pour in their coffee. 

And then, I end up into fashion design. 

I make clothes to make people feel confident,  feel happy when they wear them. 

So that is how I went into design. 

And afterwards, I also worked in that design industry for years. 

And then, I've never, never thought  of being a pilot until then. 

And then, after a couple of years in the design industry,  then I feel like, oh, I'm still young. 

Is there any other jobs, like not 9-to-5 jobs  that I should try?  And I was also missing how I traveled  and how I explored the world when I was in university. 

I do different part-times. 

I go to different places. 

When summer holidays come, I don't  go back and see my parents. 

I just run around to places and get explored. 

And I just miss that so much. 

And so I saw advertisement from aviation industry. 

I saw that. 

I was like, oh, I should give it a try. 

And I ended up in the aviations and being a cabin crew,  a flight attendant. 

Then, in this job, you do get the chance  to look in the cockpit, but not a long time. 

Every time when we get into it, maybe, like, 10 minutes. 

I didn't really see the operations of that,  and doesn't have that spark thing to me,  oh, I want to switch jobs to that--  until really, really, until a leisure  travel flight, that I'm going to my friend's wedding  in Malaysia. 

And that flight was so full, because it's  full of her relatives. 

Because she's from Hong Kong, and then  her fiance is from Malaysia. 

And so she brought all her relatives  at the back of the plane. 

And then, with my staff ticket, I just never get on the plane. 

And I was so worried, and then the captain  was so nice on that flight and released that jump seat to me. 

And that jump seat is actually located in the cockpit,  behind the two operations pilot. 

And I wasn't knowing what is that, but he released the seat. 

I know that, and I run to the gate. 

And once I step in that cockpit, I  was, like, amazed by that view. 

I still remember it is dawn time. 

Outside is 270-degree view, with those different color patches  on there, and with the instrument  lights all on and wrapping me. 

And I was like, whoa, what an office!  And I sit down, and they're still busy. 

They're, like, busy putting in information,  telling the plane what to do. 

And there's lots of people coming in. 

The cabin crew come in and talks about the passenger. 

The engineer coming in, talks about the view-- lots  of these kind of stuff. 

And this seems to be so calm and so multitask. 

I was like, wow, I love this job. 

It's so challenging. 

And then, once the door closed, it gets quiet. 

And then, we're taxiing out to the runway. 

And with the runway lights on, and then  I still remember that moment the captain  putting his right hand onto that throttle  and push it all the way forward. 

And then, the lights of the runway just come up to you, one  by one, faster and faster. 

And my heart just beat together. 

And at that moment, I know that after all this part-time, all  this experience, trying different stuff,  I know this is for me. 

I know this is a career that I want to go for. 

And that is really the spark that's  making me move in that step, going towards being a pilot. 

ADA AU: Wow. 

What a life-changing journey that must have been. 

And I'm so impressed with all the different hats  that you've tried on over the course of your career journey. 

Pivoting to being a pilot, can you  share what's been your most memorable flight experience?  

HRISTINA HO: Yeah, it's definitely  lots of memorable moments. 

But one-- I'm going to share one that is quite scary to me,  but is very memorable to me. 

I still remember that I was still a cadet pilot when  doing the training in Adelaide. 

We were doing 55 weeks' trainings over there,  and then we'll follow up with some trainings in Hong Kong. 

But then, at that time, I was kind of halfway of my training  and wasn't that experienced. 

The day before that, I just did a check,  an important check that is kind of equivalent to a pilot  license. 

And then, I was quite happy, and then  telling my instructor that I passed, and tell her that, oh,  today is a single-pilot training,  so I'll be flying alone. 

So I get ready for that. 

I do all the documents, do all the calculations,  all the graphs and charts. 

And then, go out and check with the plane,  make sure that she is OK. 

And then, after all these, I go back and tell my instructor,  say, I'm ready. 

And then, she looked at all the stuff that I prepared. 

And then, she said, oh, good to go. 

Everything looks good. 

And then, she sent me off. 

And then, I was going to enjoy the flight. 

That flight planned to be an hour or something. 

And I would just fly to an airfield  and come back on my own. 

Then, going up there, everything looks fine,  and weather is pretty good. 

It's just a little bit hot. 

And there's no air conditioning in those little planes,  and I was enjoying the view. 

I was also doing my job, marking down the field  that I'm supposed to be using, and marking down the time  to different waypoints. 

And then, suddenly, the plane is telling  me, ding-ding, ding-ding, like that. 

And I was like, what is that?  And then, she started popping out different failures,  telling me that, oh, failure, blah-blah failure. 

I know-- it takes me, like, two second, actually,  coming back and saying, is it really me facing this?  And then-- because it's quite rare. 

We don't really have that much of this kind  of incident happening. 

Then, I wasn't having the time to think, because the plane--  because we don't use autopilot, so the plane  will start to move if you start to move. 

So then, I'm instantly telling myself, oh, the instructor  taught me that I have to be aviate, navigate,  and communicate. 

So the first thing I do is aviate. 

So I make sure she's doing the right thing. 

So I settle her down, making sure  that she's flying, because she's not a car. 

She cannot just pull over and stop and start fixing problems. 

So I start to aviate. 

Then, I start to navigate. 

I start to think, where should I go?  Should I go to the destinations, which is--  I'm only halfway. 

Should I go somewhere close around the area to land?  And/or I go back. 

After I've thought of all the possibilities,  I decide to go back, which gives me the best option. 

So then, I go back, and then I turn 100 degrees back. 

And then, I start to call the code area control,  start to communicate, tell them, oh, I just have this happening. 

I look at the warnings. 

I do not know exactly what it is. 

But it looks like my electricity has some problems,  because all that pops up related to the problem,  and also my circuit breakers popped. 

And I reset, and it doesn't go back in. 

Then, I fly, fly, fly, and then they help me to put the other  aircraft away from me, because I lost some of the screen  and cannot see them. 

And then, when I arrive to harbor,  I'm almost getting back. 

And I was like, yes!  I made it back!  And then, I make the call and say--  I make an early call and say, oh, I'm inbound. 

I want to land. 

And then, they say, oh, clear to land. 

And once I hear this, all my screens go off. 

No more electricity. 

And I start to put down my flaps for the landing,  and it doesn't work anymore, because it's also  supported by the electricity. 

I really don't have the time to think what to do,  but I tell myself, I just have to trust what I have learned,  and I also have to trust that all the trainings  that I have done, even without that background. 

And if anything happened, my engine is there. 

I would do a go-around and come back and try again. 

And then, I focused so much on the speed,  because that day was so hot, and we're using a shorter runway. 

And I just come into base. 

It doesn't have a circuit thing to do. 

I just have to go down right now. 

So then, I go down, and making sure all the other planes  on the side of the runway are not coming in, blocking my way. 

And I go down and go down. 

The towers seem to know that I got a problem already,  so they start to give me that green light popping,  green lights shining to me, knowing  that I lost my communications, as communication's also  supported by electricity. 

Then, I finally land. 

And coming out from the last taxiway of that runway,  and then at that moment, I know that I did a good landing,  and I saved myself and saved the plane. 

And the scary thing comes up when I park the plane. 

When I park it at the apron, then my scary feelings  start to come up in my body. 

So that is my little scary, memorable experience  to share with you. 

And the next day, I went to the engineer  and asked him about, oh, what's happened to my plane?  And he's like, oh, your generator failed,  and it doesn't generate any more electricity. 

Yeah. 

But he's so calm. 

He just--  He just told me in a very calm way. 

ADA AU: Wow, what an amazing story. 

And I'm very impressed that you also  remained calm in what was a life-threatening situation,  and your instincts kicked in, and you  drew on the training and the flying experience  that you had to land the plane safely. 

Really amazing. 

CHRISTINA HO: Yeah, it gives me a lot of confidence  after that, especially--  I'm not from that background, and then people  do worry about how you go through all these  and worry about, oh, will she be able to make it  in such a squeezing time, with 55 weeks finishing,  almost close to a three-year course in Australia?  But I'm happy that it does happen in a place  that I wasn't that experienced. 

And also glad that we just try our best at that time. 

Even I look back, I would think there will be something  that I can do better. 

But it doesn't matter, because you  do your best at that moment, then that is enough. 

ADA AU: Great. 

Christina, in the airline industry,  currently, the percentage of women pilots  is still in the single digits. 

Have you encountered any stereotypes in the past?  And if so, how did you overcome them?  

CHRISTINA HO: I'm so glad that when I first  saw that cockpit and finding my passions,  I wasn't questioning myself and saying,  oh, those two pilots sitting in front of me are guys, are male. 

Should I go for it?  I'm so glad that I didn't have that boundary for myself,  and also not questioning about that. 

Otherwise, I wouldn't be going into it. 

But definitely, once I made that decision,  I start to tell people around me, including  my parents and my friends. 

My parents are pretty open-minded,  but they really didn't know what a pilot does. 

Because my mom would tell me, when she flies a plane,  she saw the cabin crew. 

They kind of know what she's doing, what he's doing. 

But then, when I tell her about a pilot, and she's like,  what do they do?  I said, oh, fly the plane. 

And also telling my friends--  and a lot of my friends are trying to help,  and if they're in teaching mathematics,  and I would just say, oh, can I just take two classes from you,  just to learn some of the basic again,  review a little bit of this kind of maybe  aviation-related mathematic issues?  And then, they're happy to help. 

But at the same time, they will wonder, if you didn't really  know all this basic stuff, how are you  going to make it through all these challenges in front  of you?  Then, I would just tell myself and tell them,  say, if I don't know it now, if you teach me  today, I'll learn it today. 

Because looking back, when we were young, as a kid,  we learned everything, starting from new, right?  So now, I will still have that ability. 

I keep telling myself that I will still have that ability  to learn, still have that ability to explore,  and also get the experience from the past years. 

Then, you know that what way works best to you. 

But definitely the time that going for the pilot  is the time that having the most critical stage of the server  type because it can be based on my age. 

I switch from another field. 

I was in the workforce for a couple of years. 

And some people will think that, oh, would it  be a waste that you waste those couple of years  in school in your university and then you  work a couple of years?  You'll be losing all this and starting from new. 

Are you able to bear with that?  And some people also think that even when  you fly, if your voice is a female on a plane,  they will start to think, oh, can she really fly?  And also about the background-- was  she able to make it through all this noise. 

But just I think the--  sticking back to today's topic, living your passion--  I just feel like when your passions-- when  your voice inside your heart speaking so loud, you just  hold on tight to it. 

And it can be louder than all this noise. 

ADA AU: That's great. 

I really love that positivity and that you say,  if you teach me, I can learn within today. 

And that's really fantastic. 

We can pivot a bit to more around living your passion. 

And with the recent pandemic situation,  we're reminded of the importance of physical and mental health. 

What are some of the ways that you take  care of yourself, Christina?  

CHRISTINA HO: Sleep and eat. Yeah. 

Control something that you can control. 

So sleep. 

Besides work definitely, the work  patterns I won't be able to control. 

But that is something that I aim for to do. 

I passion in doing, then I have to put something on the table. 

So when I'm off work, then I probably want  to eat healthier and sleep enough because resting really,  really bring me the best performance also. 

And also when I'm facing stress, like when we have exams--  like, every year we still have exams until we retired. 

Like, in lots of professions, you're thinking,  oh, I pass through all these 55 weeks  and then another half year of ground school  training, simulator trainings, and line trainings,  blah, blah, blah. 

And then you thought, oh, it's perfect. 

I got the license. 

Then you have to be checked every half year  and then so much more exam behind that every year. 

So when this comes, looking back when I first  started with the flying training,  I remember the first flew flight. 

My reports are all red. 

There's lots of red and lots of red circles. 

And I tell myself I won't be able to fix all of them  in one flight, but I will be able to fix three. 

Then I pick three, the most possible three, and I fix them. 

And the next flight, I see less three in my reports,  and I tell myself these three are not coming back. 

I'm not letting them to come back,  but I'm fixing another three. 

Eventually, I think I'll make it through. 

So I kind of put my--  I still having that far and having  that gold in front of me knowing that I  have to pass it from here. 

But at the same time, I'm focusing on the next flight,  focusing on the flight in the afternoon  because sometimes we fly a few times a day. 

You just don't have that time and energy  to worry too much about far in there. 

So just worry about what is coming next,  then it really helps me of managing my expectation  and managing my mental health. 

And also at the end of the day, I acknowledge the hard work  that I've done, acknowledge that I did put in the hard work. 

I have to appreciate that, and that helps me, too. 

ADA AU: That's great advice to break down  what's seemingly an insurmountable goal  into small milestones. 

CHRISTINA HO: Yeah. 

ADA AU: And then a lot of that positive self-talk  and encouragement. 

I think we can all apply that to our everyday lives, too. 

The last few years have been turbulent for the airline  industry, to say the least. 

And I'm sure you've experienced a lot of changes, Christina. 

CHRISTINA HO: Mhm. 

ADA AU: Any tips to prepare for and deal with change?  

CHRISTINA HO: Just make sure that you know  changes is actually a norm. 

If it doesn't change, it's not a norm. 

As I said, focus on something that you can really focus  on because something that if you cannot control you can't do  much on it. 

But do focus on how can I make this better,  like, what can I do to make this better. 

When I ask these questions, is really ease my stress  because I know that there's something I can do. 

And also remember that all these changes is going  to bring me something good. 

And sometimes you just doesn't know it at that moment,  but after all they were all works together  and building the one who you are today. 

So just like that incident, I wouldn't say  it should come later in my--  like, when I have professionally the highest end of the license,  I would just being thankful of all this happening and making  a better me. 

ADA AU: That's great. 

Thank you. 

As we're talking about work and flying,  what's been your proudest moment at work?  

CHRISTINA HO: If talk about the proudest moment without work,  I would say bringing my mom up into the sky. 

When we graduate in Adelaide in Australia,  normally the cadets will bring up their parents  to have a little trial flight and me, too. 

I also want to do that, but then I was like,  oh, it's so hard to make sure the weather is perfect  and then my moms and dads is here. 

How about I make a longer flight, make them to really,  really experience what I do?  Because normally my classmate will bring them up  for like 45 minutes to look at the coast, how pretty it is. 

But I also want her to know exactly what I  do, like where will we land, where  we will practice landing, what kind of landing we do. 

I really want to show her. 

I want to share the joy with her. 

So then I tell her, mom, is it OK  that I schedule a long flight, like two hours something?  And she's like, yeah, I can do it. 

And I was like, oh, you may be getting sick or something,  but let's try that. 

If you can't bear with it, we'll come down. 

And then I really do the planning,  make a long flight for her. 

And I bring her up, showing her the narrowest--  one way to land, what kind of landing we would do. 

And then she's sitting at the back,  and towards the end we fly over the coastline. 

And then I turn around and tell her, mom,  and say, oh, our trip is almost done. 

This is the last spot they would come. 

And it's just like, really?  It's that short?  And I was laughing because I said it's already two hours. 

And I was so happy that she enjoyed the flight a lot  and also happy that she enjoyed what I'm doing. 

And I think it's just so unpredictable  what is coming up next, especially  like with the pandemic and stuff. 

We never know what happened tomorrow. 

So if there's something right to do,  is something that is meaningful to do to you and to do,  then don't wait. 

Now is the best time to do it. 

And so that time, God is good. 

He gave me a perfect weather, and then we have a good trip. 

That is the proud moment that I have been through  with my family. 

But how about work?  In my work, there's one little story that in my heart  always is actually a very normal day that we're coming back  to Hong Kong. 

And remember that after we land, the in-flight manager just  come in and say, oh, there is a family that  want to visit the cockpit. 

And then, as normal, the captain would be very nice  and say, oh, yeah, after we've done every work,  they can come in. 

And then once they come in-- oh, it's  actually a family of a Japanese family. 

And then the two little kids sort  of holding those little planes model. 

And then the mommy speak a little bit English. 

And when the mommy come in and say,  oh, I didn't know that you have a female pilot here--  I watched those dramas, and I'm so surprised in real life also  having one. 

And also they're happy that we are bringing them to Hong Kong,  and this really touched me and reminded me about my passion  in this job is bringing the passenger safely  to their destinations or to a place that they want to go. 

Actually, every time I go back into the cockpit  during a takeoff landing, I still  having that motions in my heart and still very touching to me. 

It doesn't go away. 

This little story is on a normal day,  but it really reminds me a lot of these happy moments. 

ADA AU: Wow. 

So many proud moments and so many things to be proud of. 

And I'm sure your family is super proud, especially  having gone on this flight, the first flight with you. 

And it also must be really satisfying to feel  that satisfaction of bringing people safely  to their destination encapsulated  by this Japanese family. 

CHRISTINA HO: And thank you for her that  placing her life in my hand. 

  ADA AU: So I'm glad to hear that you  do have these annual and very frequent check-ups and exams,  not like with driving. 

CHRISTINA HO: Yeah, it will be safe. 

 You can fly with Christina. 

  ADA AU: Yeah. 

In addition to flying with Christina,  you recently picked up art and design again,  where you share your life stories from the skies. 

And you created this new very charming cat character. 

And if we could share some of your creations--  

CHRISTINA HO: Yeah. 

ADA AU: Christina, if you could tell us more about this--  

CHRISTINA HO: Yeah. 

These two years, I start to do a lot more on the orientations  for the new joiners for the company, and also some school  visit, and start to realize they kind  of being very excited about what's coming up  in the future but also a little bit of hesitations  or anxious about what will come up, especially the young ones. 

And then I just having a feeling that  really want to encourage them. 

And then I think of how can I keep  on encourage them on their way and being  a little real supporter on their path. 

So I start to think maybe I should draw something. 

Maybe I should pick up the painting again. 

And then I start to draw the series of life lessons  from the sky. 

And if you're looking back in episode one or two,  there's no characters. 

It's just a little bit about aviation  and a little bit about life because I just  feel like I don't want to bomb them  with lots of technical terms. 

I just want to inspire them. 

There's something fun in this industry, but at the same time  it's kind of related to their life,  and what I have learned through this path, and showing them  I face the same thing like you. 

So then I start drawing, and after episode and episode  and then Christina Meow just came up. 

And then after it came up, and then her friends comes up too. 

So Christina starts to have friends,  and they have different characters. 

They have different thoughts or things like to do. 

So then I keep on writing, and then I  start to receive different feedbacks from the inbox  or anything like that. 

And saying, oh, when I read those,  thank you so much because you ignite my passions again,  no matter the aviations or other things. 

They start to show me. 

I took this new course to making me the next step. 

And I just feel so happy every time receiving these messages,  even I never met those people and thinking  that how a little step making a difference--  we don't have to make big, big, big step. 

It's just a little one, and then the rest  will just come like a snowball. 

And so that is the motions that give me  how I can continue writing "Life Lessons From the Sky."  And also now it's already 40 something episode,  so it was so fast. 

ADA AU: That's great. 

And on the topic of encouraging people,  what is your advice to people that  are thinking of taking the leap to pursue their passion?  

CHRISTINA HO: When you have the time  to try out different stuff--  because only through trying yourself better. 

It's not like Christina telling me  how it feels like doing something,  but it's kind of you going through it. 

And there's nothing too bad can happen. 

And you just get to know yourself better. 

And when you've finally hit to something  that you really passion and you really like,  then it will clicks you because you know all the ones that it  doesn't fit you that well. 

And also you have been never perfect to try something. 

You just can't wait until that moment  because we can control lots of stuff. 

So don't be afraid. 

Just try and just go ahead and do it. 

You'll find something-- you never know what comes up to you  and what's that precious moments to you. 

It would just show up. 

And when you heed to something that in your passions,  hold on tight to that feelings because once you let it go,  it will go. 

And you'll be staying at the same spot again,  and you don't want to see that. 

Hold on tight onto something you feel  in your heart that is the true feelings that from you. 

ADA AU: Thank you so much for your sharing,  and I love that positivity. 

Now we're going to open up for Q&A,  where we have some questions from our Googlers. 

And for those in the audience, please type  your questions for Christina in the chat. 

All right. 

So the first question is from Malena. 

"Amazing story, Christina. 

I imagine there might have been a lot of noises around you  during the journey. 

How did you manage to keep your eyes peeled on your goal  despite the noise?"  

CHRISTINA HO: I would say you really  have to know what is your purpose in life  and what do you want. 

If it is something that you really hear it in your heart,  then you should hold on tight to it  and knowing that noise should be louder  than the rest of the stuff because you will be going  through the rest of the time. 

And I just want to tell you here if you were the person  that who believe in yourself, I could  be the second one for you. 

ADA AU: Great. 

We can take the next question. 

Question from Pingkee. 

"What an astonishing journey, Christina. 

What are some of the key qualities that  helped you navigate these massive changes  and challenges in your life that we all can try to develop?"  

CHRISTINA HO: So when we facing changes and challenge,  as I shared, try not to focus so much on the failures,  or you win, or anything like that because  throughout the journey you'll be having lots of failures. 

You just have to be friends with them,  and there's nothing bad about it. 

It's just a way to know yourself well. 

And if you fail this time, then you probably  want to check out why because you don't  want to hit it again next time. 

And I do find joy in learning, and also I  find joy in seeing a better me. 

So I think that's really drive me of seeing challenge,  and don't look at it half of them is failure,  and look at it that's part of the life, part of the life  experience that after I've done it I can share with you. 

After I'd done the interview for cadets,  then I can share with you what will happen. 

And that is from a first-person view, which is pretty cool. 

So I think we can all use it in daily life. 

We try something, and we happy share. 

ADA AU: Love it. 

Thank you so much for sharing. 

Let's move on to the next question, a question  from Angel. 

"Self-compassion is a topic that I discussed recently with  my friends. 

Can you give us some suggestions on how  we can navigate during challenges in life  and keeping the self-compassion attitude?"  

CHRISTINA HO: I think we should acknowledge and also  say yes to what you have done every day, that you work your  very best. 

And I do a person that's big in me time. 

I do like meditating and having my own time  destressing after all this. 

Sometimes we gone through different changes,  and even in daily life there's changes. 

Right?  And you get stressful. 

You start to realize, and you start  to realize how you react when you're stressful. 

It's also something about learning yourself. 

And when you realize it, it's not a bad thing. 

It's not a bad thing you have emotions. 

We are all human. 

It's just when you realize it, how  are you going to deal with it?  Some people go shuso and with their friends and have a drink. 

For me, I love staying in my little room, doing self-care. 

I do breathing. 

I play with my skincare. 

I do mask. 

I sleep. 

I take naps. 

I do a little exercise. 

Whatever brings energy to you, I think  that is the way that everyone is different. 

And you just have to--  that's why I've so emphasized about knowing yourself  because my way, Christina way, may not work on you. 

But you probably know yourself the best  and knowing that what brings your body, your mind the best. 

But at the same time don't forget to really encourage  yourself, because I encourage the other people,  that you're doing good. 

You're doing good work today, and tomorrow  what I can do better, and appreciate  of what you have put in. 

I think that's something to bring with you. 

ADA AU: Great. 

So control what you can control. 

Give yourself positive self-talk and also do what works for you. 

Thank you. 

And let's go to the next question, a question  from Katie. 

CHRISTINA HO: Mhm. 

ADA AU: "I wanted to ask you about getting  on to the cadet program for the first time and the training  process. 

Did you find it daunting?  And what brought you confidence and helped  you to believe in yourself?"  

CHRISTINA HO: We didn't touch on a lot about the cadet program,  but I can quickly go through it. 

It's actually with a six-month selection at that time. 

I went through a English test. 

I went through high-end coordinations. 

There will be group exercises, seeing  how you work with the others, doing some flight planning  exercise, looking at how you deal with data,  and also have HR interview and seeing some captains,  making sure that they can work with you in the future. 

These kind of things, and then you will have medical check,  and we have it every year too, et cetera. 

And after all these selections, then you don't get a break. 

They send you off to do the training. 

If they think that, oh, Christina  can be a future captain, then we'll send her for training. 

And then we've gone through that 55 weeks  training, and that training in worth around 16 to 17 subjects,  like metrology. 

That's something that I really like  to look at and read and about how a plane can fly, et cetera. 

And then you get the fun part is the flying part. 

Just like the questions, the flying part--  when the flying part comes and also the ground school comes,  it's actually quite tough in the beginning  because I kind of putting a whole new mindset on myself. 

I was doing paintings and drawings in school,  and I was working in that field. 

And now I kind of have to put in an aviation mindset  and having learning all these in new. 

Then I was like, also, I just focus on that day. 

I make some goals, what kind of progress  I have to do in that day, or in that semester, or that week  because almost every week we have exams. 

And the stressful part is your reports  would be hang up on the hallway. 

And then your flying report, so it can be open by anyone. 

But don't compare to the others. 

We all have our strength, we all have our weakness,  and we all come from different backgrounds. 

And don't forget all the part times  or all those little things or warranty work  that you have done. 

Actually, you bring something back. 

You learned something from it, and you thought, oh, it's  not going to work on this job. 

But it's not. 

Sometimes it works. 

It's transferable. 

I still remember how when I do the landing the first time,  definitely the control park, it may take some time to really  get used to on the control. 

But I realized that how I look at the one way,  am I on the left, am I on the right, so am I high or low. 

I'm pretty good at that because I'm very good at shapes. 

And I thought, oh, actually, art stuff  can bring into aviation, just like now I  can bring the aviation stuff into Christina Meow  into a life lesson from the sky. 

So you never, never know what kind of skills  that you have learn. 

It already instilled in you and you should be happy. 

You should be happy that you own them,  and they will be useful somehow in your life  as soon as you're willing. 

ADA AU: I really love the way that you've  positioned your unique strengths as assets,  like all the observation and perspective skills that you've  gotten from your fine arts training  and how it's become really valuable for a pilot. 

And I'm sure we can all be inspired by this  and apply this in our everyday lives. 

CHRISTINA HO: Thank you. 

ADA AU: Let's get to the next question, question from Alice. 

"I love how you break down problems into smaller ones. 

What do you think was the biggest challenge  you faced during your transition from being cabin crew  to pilot?" 

CHRISTINA HO: Believe. 

Really, really believe in yourself  and be thankful, and be thankful for people who didn't see it  but already trust you. 

Those two things are based on the belief. 

So once you see something, you tell yourself,  I believe in myself even starting from zero. 

Actually, we start everything from zero. 

Maybe my starting line is a little bit behind,  but it will be there. 

So when-- I still receive a lot of questions about, oh,  if I'm a female girls, if I wore glasses--  at a certain age, can I switch jobs?  Can I do certain things?  The first thing you do is believe in yourself  that you can. 

I think that brings up the rest because once  you believe that you start to do the action. 

You put little bits together. 

You ask around. 

You don't ask around do you go for it,  but you ask around the ways to do it. 

And then you put them together, and the first part  is probably very messy. 

But it's fine because we all do projects like that. 

We all do artwork like that. 

And you just eliminate the stuff that what works best to you,  and then you put them together and then really plan out  what do you want and what is assessable, what is possible. 

And even is not possible, how can you make it possible?  And then you plan it like that. 

And definitely when you have a passion, when you tell people,  people will be happy to help you because you  know what you want and you're telling them  that I'm going for this. 

I'm putting my hard work in this,  and then people will happy to give me a certain words. 

Still remember on the path being a cabin crew. 

And every time I'm very keen on looking at the flight plan  from the system, even is not my job to do it. 

Then I start to learn them bit by bit. 

So how do they read, what kind of weather  is that related to our flight, and sometimes we  park at Echo 4, which is E4, a gate. 

And then I start to think, oh, one way we're using--  if that is one way that is very close. 

And I know that I got little time to prepare for passenger. 

Start to relay everything together,  and I have that joy and that process. 

And then I still remember meeting a captain on the fly. 

And he said, I see your passion. 

Keep going. 

And I asked him about little technical stuff. 

And then all these people, I still  keep them a place in my heart and thinking thank you  for those little words. 

And they don't have to, but they did it. 

So I also want to be that person who pay forward,  telling no matter other young ones or the ones who  are in the workforce already for years. 

We all need encouragement. 

We all need to be seen, like our hard work to be seen. 

So I just want to tell them I'm just having a little story  to share with you. 

And hopefully it can encourage you in evening  and remind you about we all have our dreams  and little dreams, big dreams. 

It doesn't matter and doesn't make  big dreams bigger than a small one  because there's only dreams that fit on you or not. 

It's not like big or small. 

ADA AU: And it's a virtuous cycle. 

So the more belief that you have,  the more that you tell people about it. 

I'm sure it grows on itself and helps  you to overcome different challenges along the way. 

I think we have time for one more question. 

So let's pop that one up. 

Another question from Pingkee. 

"Who is someone that you look up to and inspires you the most?"  

CHRISTINA HO: I don't think I grew up with a role model,  but I think it's instantly insert in me  that my mom is a very inspiring person. 

Looking back into the story that she fly up  into a little plane for the first time  and she's not scared, I think she's a fighter, too. 

And also I start to know how to appreciate her  about her decision of letting me going for studying  fine arts especially. 

We're coming from a very traditional family  and studying in this normal school in Hong Kong, which is  not many parents can say yes. 

Even I got the scholarship and saying  that I want to go somewhere. 

She can say no, but she didn't. 

She told me that you may have to work  in the workforce for many years in something  that you don't like. 

But the only thing that I can give you  is a couple of years happy time in your university. 

And I was like, oh, even I have done part time  to support a little bit. 

But her support from saying yes actually making the story  happen. 

That's why I said even I don't have a role model in my mind. 

She's always in my heart, and even now when  I tell her what I want to do when I start drawing,  when I start encouraging people, she's still  being a very supportive mom. 

So thank you for her, and I love you, Mom. 

  ADA AU: Thank you so much, Christina, for sharing. 

And thank you so much for inspiring us today. 

And to everyone, thank you for tuning in to today's Talks  at Google with Christina Ho in Hong Kong. 

We hope you all enjoyed this talk. 

I certainly did, and hope you got some inspiration  on pursuing your passion. 

CHRISTINA HO: Thank you. 

ADA AU: Thank you and goodbye. 

CHRISTINA HO: Goodbye.