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"I never stopped believing there would be another way"

Success stories usually begin with someone who always knew what they wanted to become. Haizil Jebin 's story doesn't.

Growing up in Kodungallur in Kerala's Thrissur district, life was anything but smooth. He lived in a joint family where, as he puts it, things were often difficult. His father worked as a typist in Dubai, sending home whatever he could, but money was always limited. Like many middle-class families, practical decisions mattered more than personal dreams.

As a child, Jebin wasn't the outspoken, ambitious student teachers remembered years later. He was quiet, kept mostly to himself, and simply tried to get through school. But around the age of 15, something caught his imagination. He discovered Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, and for the first time, he felt certain about what he wanted his future to look like.

Only, life had other plans.

The degree he never wantedHis family believed Electronics and Communication Engineering was the safer choice. So that became his path, whether he liked it or not.

He joined the College of Engineering in Munnar, but from the very beginning, something felt off. The lectures didn't excite him. The subjects refused to stay in his head. He struggled semester after semester, not because he wasn't capable, but because his heart simply wasn't in it.

By the time he finally graduated, the journey had left its mark. He had accumulated 20 backlogs and needed an extra six months to complete his degree. While friends celebrated job offers and campus placements, he was still trying to finish examinations that seemed never-ending.

For many people, that would have been enough to believe they had fallen behind for good.

Jebin didn't see it that way.

Finding hope in unexpected places

One conversation changed everything.

A friend casually mentioned that engineering graduates could apply to the Indian Armed Forces, including pilot roles. Suddenly, there was a direction again. Flying had always fascinated him, and this seemed like a path worth chasing.

While preparing for the entrance process and waiting for his academic results to be processed, he needed a way to support himself. So he signed up as a Zomato delivery partner in Kochi.

It wasn't glamorous, and he never pretended it was.

The flexible hours gave him something invaluable. He could earn enough to pay his expenses while keeping time aside to study. Every delivery became part of a much bigger plan that nobody else could really see.

About six months later, another opportunity came along. He moved to Bengaluru and started teaching mathematics at an edtech company. The job brought stability, and for a while, it seemed as though life was finally beginning to cooperate.

Then everything changed

Early 2020 brought a phone call no family ever wants to receive.

His father had suffered a cardiac arrest in Dubai, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was beginning to disrupt the world. Travel restrictions, uncertainty, and fear made an already difficult situation even harder.

Jebin found himself coordinating hospitals, paperwork, and medical care from India while trying to bring his father home safely. Eventually, they succeeded.

Then came the devastating second wave of Covid in India. Medicines became difficult to find. Healthcare systems were overwhelmed. In June 2021, his father passed away. The loss left a silence that words couldn't fill. And before he had time to recover emotionally, another setback arrived. As the edtech industry began shrinking, Jebin lost his teaching job too.

There was one more blow waiting.

By then, he had turned 27, crossing the upper age limit for the Armed Forces recruitment he had spent years preparing for. Overnight, the dream he had patiently worked towards disappeared.

His father was gone.

His job was gone.

His career plan was gone.

For a while, it felt as though life had erased everything at once.

Starting over at an age when many people settle down
Some people would have called it bad luck and stopped trying.

Jebin kept asking himself a different question. "If not this, then what?"

The answer kept bringing him back to aviation. If he couldn't fly for the Armed Forces, perhaps he could become a commercial pilot.

It sounded almost impossible. Pilot training costs lakhs of rupees, far beyond what his family could afford. But impossible had never stopped him before.

With guidance from mentors, he began researching flight schools across different countries before choosing Fast Aviation Academy in the Philippines.

Finding the right academy turned out to be easier than arranging the money.

For nearly two years, he approached bank after bank, facing rejection after rejection while trying to secure an education loan. Every refusal delayed the dream a little longer. Eventually, one bank finally said yes.

In December 2024, carrying more hope than certainty, Jebin boarded a flight to the Philippines.

Finally, in the cockpit

Earlier this year, he completed his private pilot training, a milestone that once seemed impossibly far away. Today, at 29, he continues working toward becoming a commercial pilot.

When he looks back, he doesn't talk much about sacrifice or resilience. He doesn't describe himself as extraordinary.

Instead, he says something surprisingly simple. "I've seen people give up when things go wrong. I just kept going anyway." Maybe that's what makes his story so relatable.

Twenty backlogs didn't define him. Losing his father didn't stop him. Missing the Armed Forces age limit didn't end his dream of flying.

Sometimes, reaching your destination isn't about taking the straight road. Sometimes it's about refusing to turn back, even after every detour.

At 29, Haizil Jebin is finally doing what he dreamed about as a teenager—learning to fly.

It took longer than he imagined. But perhaps that's what makes the journey worth remembering.