"Please have your boarding passes and ID card out and ready to be looked at before continuing on through security," announces the intercom system to all the awaiting passengers waiting in the security line. I am unfortunately one of the few unlucky people who have to wait at the back if the line, outside, in the freezing cold, and to top it off this is not the first time I have been in this predicament.
Traveling and airports are two different things. They easily coincide, but all together one is more enjoyable than the other. Traveling is something that seems fun, and even relaxing, but getting to the part of the trip is what makes you want to rip your hair out and throw it at a TSA agent.
At one time going to the airport used to be easy and no hassle step to getting to your destination. The airport is now someplace that everyone dreads because of the numerous problems and steps that are involved to reaching your gate. This form of travel has become a dreaded experience. I am constantly counting down the days till I am to be on a plane again. I fly about six to eight times a year, every year, not including layovers, and let me tell you I have seen just about everything.
I have had a flight at 7:00 in the morning causing me to wake up around 2 or 3 a.m. just so I can catch the Flyaway bus down to LAX. I have waited in line for checking in, and argued with the front desk. The checking in kiosks were supposed to make checking in bags and getting boarding passes simpler, but the problem with adding technology to the already complicated process is that the people at the front desk do not know how to use the kiosks either. This just results in taking more time to do something that could have been done the first time properly. This process alone should tell people that they need to be at the airport at least an hour or two before your plane takes off.
I have waited in line for security for about a half an hour to be told that my school ID is no longer a proper form of identification even though I was still considered a minor . This circumstance caused me to have to invest in a proper state identification card. When I finally reached the security scanners I was pulled to the side and talked to about my contact solution for 20 minutes with two guys who barely looked like they were out of high school, was not an enjoyable experience. It turns out my contact solution was not only the wrong size being eight ounces, not two, but the hydrogen peroxide in the solution kept on setting off the liquid security alarms. This is all before I even get the chance to sit down at my gate.
I grew up flying since I was really young and that translate into me being an unaccompanied minor at some point. I have worn the plane pin, red buttons, and dog collar like necklaces around my neck that shouts to the entire airport that I am a child and I am in the care of a flight attendant that wants nothing to do with me. For my first couple years of traveling as an unaccompanied minor I started a collection of the numerous tags and necklaces that were given to me in my junk drawer in my room until my parents forced me to throw them out. Layovers were by far the worse when traveling without a parent. The airport staff places you into a room with a colorful, and supposed happy mural on the wall, for example a rainbow, or cartoon aircraft, where you are suppose to wait for however long you have till your next flight. When in that room you had better bring something to do because the provided form of entertainment that is supplied is C-SPAN playing on the only television in the room. I am excited to announce that turning 15 years old in the eyes of the airlines make me an adult and no longer eligible for the rainbow room.
Delays are to be expected, but now they are happening more frequently. Delays can turn any person's day sour especially after a long day at the airport. I have been in an airport for a whole day when I was only supposed to be there for an hour tops. Because of the delays alone, I now know the LAX, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and many other airports like the back of my hand. The reasons for my numerous delays have ranged form bad weather to the traffic on the airway runway, but the best excuse I have heard as the the fault of the crew. In my layover in Milwaukee it was announced that the trip would be delayed because the entire aircraft crew was running late. As each hour passed, the entire flight would get excited whenever we would see the navy blue uniform. Needless to say when the crew finally arrived two and a half hours late, we were all relieved and quite frustrated.
Even though I dread getting on planes and flying to new places. I love traveling. I have learned that when flying, packing, and going through security that patience is not only a virtue, but a necessity when planning to visit another place. Waiting and dealing with people is part of the experience. Even though I have had many bad experiences with planes and flight attendants, I have realized that each experience forced me to deal with people giving me social skills that I would have gained nowhere else. Not many people can say they have been around screaming babies, annoying college students, and adults trying to figure out where they are suppose to go all at the same time in a small confined space. having had these experiences no matter how annoying and unnecessary, will not deter me from traveling to new places in the future, and has also taught me how to handle myself in stressful situations, and tune out annoyances in small places.
As I get ready to go off to college, hopefully opening more doors to other travel experiences in the future, I become more ready that I can face anything that comes my way. Whether it is a person claiming that I do not look like my ID, that they have lost my suitcase, or that my flight has gotten canceled, I can take my experiences and put them into action, making my future more enjoyable and stress free :)
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