While I was abroad, I did a lot of travel by plane because it saved me a lot of time and if booked early enough, the tickets were hardly more expensive than other modes of transportation.
Quite a bit of my time in airports thus far has been spent alone. Sure, I've had company a few times, which tends to make things easier, but you don't know how much you hate something until you have to do it alone and there is no one there to push you along and motivate you.
Spending so much time in airports, I've been making mental notes of everything I hate about them. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely ADORE flying, but I could do without the airport atmosphere that comes with traveling. Maybe you can relate and hate the same five things about airports:
1. They're expensive/hard to get to
Unless you have a car (or a friend with a car) at your disposal, traveling to airports can be really expensive and hard to do. Last week while I was trying to organize how I was going to get into London so I could get on my flight back to The States, I was stressed because I was worried there wouldn't be an Uber available at 4:30 in the morning. A taxi wasn't an option because they're just too expensive.
I ended up spending almost $80 on my Uber ride, so that was fun. At least I got lucky and there was willing to drive me that early, though.
2. Luggage is heavy and troublesome
If you've been traveling for a long time, specifically living somewhere for months, you're probably going to have a lot of luggage. All semester I had to make sure I wasn't buying too many books (literally, I have so many already; I don't know why I do that to myself) because I had to worry about how much my bag was going to weigh. Making it even more difficult, I didn't have a scale so I just had to guess and pray that it fit within the weight limits.
My checked-bag ended up being almost ten pounds overweight and thankfully they didn't care, but it was really hard for me to walk around with it. You should've seen me trying to get it down four flights of stairs in my dorm.
I also had a cabin bag and a backpack. Mix that with my immense lack of upper body strength, and I'm sure you can guess it didn't go that well. At one point while trying to load my bag onto the scale at check-in, it hit the top of my foot, which proceeded to bruise and swell.
Don't wear slides to the airports if you're managing your own luggage, kids.
3. Security
If you've ever flown before, I doubt I have to explain this one very much. Security is nerve-wracking, even when you know there's no reason you should be nervous. It's so weird; I know I don't have anything I'm not supposed to, but the second I get into that line, I start thinking they're going to find something in my bag somehow.
Then, you have to get out your toiletries and any big electronics out of your bag, while standing in this god-awful line. Then if you're like me, you take up at least three of the bins that you put your stuff in. If you're wearing a jacket or scarf, or god-forbid a pair of boots, you basically have to undress, which means you hold up the line even more and I hate that feeling you get when you can tell people near you are frustrated because you're taking too long.
Security is the real reason I started wearing slides to the airport. Taking off my shoes and then having to put them back on gave me too much anxiety.
4. The fear of being late
Some people are perpetually late. They don't really mind the idea of being a bit late and cutting things close. I'm the total opposite. I'm that person that shows up three and a half hours early when I only need to be there two hours early because I'm so paranoid I'm going to miss my flight.
I blame my perpetually late mother for almost making me late to things most of my childhood. But at least I got something good out of that and I learned the importance of being on time (LOL, sorry not sorry, Mom).
5. The crowds
I tend to get a lot of anxiety when I'm around a lot of people, strictly because I don't like people touching me. Like, I hardly even let my family hug me. So when there are 100 people weaving all around me like they're nuts, I go a little mad.
It gives me serious anxiety and honestly, I would just prefer to avoid the crowds at all costs (this is where my need to always be 100 hours early comes in handy).
Even though I hate so many things about the airport, I'm going to continue to fly because I love traveling and I love the aspect of physically being on a plane. I just think there are some issues that should be resolved when it comes to airports.