I love airplanes, especially military aircraft. Maybe it’s because I was a teenager when the original “Top Gun” was released. To me, they’re the most beautiful man made thing ever.

My first airshow was when I was a teenager. I went to it with my older brother and met a woman who was a pilot. She encouraged me to fly, which was really intriguing.

When it came time to pick a path, my parents told me I had two choices: college or flying lessons, but they weren’t paying for both.

I decided to go for an airplane ride, because I had never been in the air and I wanted to find out what it was like. I’m not a daring person, so this was a big step. It’s one thing to admire planes; it’s a whole other to fly in one.

I went to my local airport, and the instructor told me to get in the pilot seat of a little Cessna. What? I was here for a ride, not to fly it. I was just 16 and still green with my driver’s license.

Still I followed his instructions, and got in the pilot’s side. He gave me step-by-step instructions, and we went down the runway and into the air.

Oh my! I couldn’t believe everything I could see from up there. Miles and miles of land. Lakes and reservoirs I knew were so small from the air.

The experience gave me the answer I needed. I was going to go to college.

You see, instead of enjoying the flight, the being as free as a bird, my mind just kept focusing on how is it possible that we are in the air?

Today, I love to fly and jump at any chance I get to go in the air, and I love airshows.

Recently, my husband and I went to the airshow at the Pocono Raceway over Memorial Day weekend. The F-22 Raptor was amazing, and patriotic pride just swelled in me upon watching it maneuver in the sky.

This 62-foot long behemoth with a wingspan of more than 44 feet could speed through the sky, come almost to a complete stop, and shoot straight up vertically. Oh, be still my beating heart. I love that plane.

All around me, people were wearing earplugs, but I wanted to experience every rumble and boom. It was loud. When it would fly directly overhead coming from behind the stadium to out in front, the sound would reverberate through your body. So cool.

The show also included the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, which are just amazing.

The group of six planes took off from Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport (43 miles away) and were at the raceway in five minutes.

Off in the distance, you could see a cloud low on the horizon that grew and grew until six dots appeared. The Blue Angels were flying directly at the raceway.

I’m almost speechless to describe their show. There was just so much that was phenomenal. No matter how many times I see them or the Air Force’s Thunderbirds, I am in awe at how close the tips of their wings come when they fly in a diamond formation.

I also loved when the solo planes fly across the sky with one plane inverted over the other. But my favorite maneuver was when all six planes flew toward us with five forming an arc over one going straight through the center, and then all at once they fly straight up and fanned out. Just beautiful.

And I am particularly proud that one of those Blue Angel pilots is a woman, Lieutenant Amanda Lee.

By the way, if you’re wondering, I landed that little Cessna without any help and didn’t even bounce back up.