When Jessica Cox was younger, she wished for super powers so she could soar high above her classmates.
Today, some could consider Cox’s abilities superhuman.
Cox earned her pilot’s license in 2008, and with it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first armless person to fly an airplane.
For unknown reasons, Cox, now 31, was born without her arms. She flies the plane — and does everything else, from brushing her hair to typing — with her feet.
On Saturday afternoon, Cox was at the Pearson Field Education Center telling her story.
As a child, Cox said, she learned early to eliminate two words from her vocabulary: I can’t.
“If I had arms? I don’t think I would be a pilot,” Cox said. “Part of the ability I had to develop early was persistence.”
Earning her pilot’s license, a feat that some accomplish in six months, took her about three years, Cox said.
“I had to be hush-hush. What if people didn’t like the idea of a woman pilot up in the air with no arms threatening everyone’s safety?” she joked.
Cox’s accomplishments have earned her plenty of accolades; President Barack Obama reportedly called her an inspiration, and she was a guest on Ellen DeGeneres’ show.
Tiarra Karrer, 15, of Vancouver, who went to aviation camp through the Pearson center, came to hear Cox.
“She’s so able and has no limits,” Karrer said, “If nothing stops her, nothing should stop me.”
That’s exactly the message Cox, a motivational speaker, travels the world to spread.
Cox tackled flying because it was her greatest fear. But she has a long list of activities on her résumé — from earning a black belt in tae kwon do, which is where she met her husband, to learning how to surf and scuba dive.
One member of the audience asked her if there was anything she couldn’t do.
Cox took a moment.
“Well, I don’t use ‘can’t,’ ” she said.
But she admitted it took her a long time to master the ponytail — and she wasn’t so sure about rock climbing, but she figured that out, too.
She doesn’t always get it the first time, she said. And she stresses the importance of looking at things differently.
But really, “I can’t think of anything else,” she said.
“One of my favorite quotes is: ‘Walls are there to stop people who don’t want it bad enough,’ ” Cox said.
