07/19/2025
🗣️ “You won’t fit in.”
🗣️ “You’re not tall enough/strong enough.”
🗣️ “You can’t do it alone.”
🗣️ “People will think you’re incompetent when they see you in the driver seat.”
These are all things I told myself when I started training to become a Motorcoach operator. They aren’t very nice phrases. But guess what? Some of them are true, some are not, and either way it’s ok!!
1. “You won’t fit in.”
Yup, I don’t always fit in. And that’s a good thing! I get to be someone who breaks the stereotype and paves a new path. When I was on the job at RodeoHouston (the largest job I’ve ever been part of), I was one of about 20 women drivers in the midst of about 200 bus drivers!
2. “You’re not tall enough/strong enough.”
I am in fact tall enough to reach the pedals and drive comfortably, and I am strong enough for the required tasks like scrubbing the windshield, sweeping and mopping the floor, refreshing the lavatory, refueling, taking trash out, adding more diesel exhaust fluid, occasionally helping load/unload luggage, etc. I am not strong enough to change a tire as I saw another driver doing in an emergency, but that’s ok because it’s not in my job description!
3. “You can’t do it alone.”
Yep, there are times I can’t do everything alone. I need help sometimes as a motorcoach operator. But do you know what that means? It means I get to be a human being!! One time I pulled into a truck stop for fuel and my wheel was smoking. I didn’t know what to do but a kind trucker went into the shop and bought me the right tool for the job! The amazing part is that he had noticed it on the freeway but couldn’t do anything, and not long after that I just so happened to pull up beside him at the pump, and he recognized me and came to my rescue! Stories like this have happened often and I know it’s cause there’s Someone looking out for me.
4. “People will think you’re incompetent when they see you in the driver seat.”
Yup, I am sure this is true. I used to think it about myself. But I am proud that I proved them all (and myself) wrong!!!!!!
😀😀😀😀😀
I love being a motorcoach operator, but the secret truth is that —most of all— I love being ME. ☺️
Go after things that energize you even if they scare you!!!! You’re so much more capable than you think! Promise! 🌟
