We all know planning a trip can be very stressful. From finally agreeing on a destination with your travel buddies to booking cheap flights and hotels that don’t seem completely shady to breaking your little piggy bank grandma gave you to “save for a rainy day” and pay for expenses. But there’s one thing to take care of before you can even make any of those plans. No, it’s not finding a dog, cat, alpaca, or whatever pet you have sitter. It’s making sure you have a valid passport. I'm currently working on travel plans for summer vacation, but I can't make any reservations until I have an updated passport. So if you're in a similar situation, read along about my recent trip through hell...I mean updating my passport.

A few days before renewing my passport, my mom suggested instead of going to the post office we go to the public library closest to us and get it done. Apparently the post office now only takes appointments when it comes to renewing passports. When she called to make an appointment (yes, she still makes my appointments, don't judge me!) but no one picked up and was put on hold the entire time. The library was the only option. The passport service center at the library opened at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and I made sure to arrive on time. I figured it would be different from the post office setting and wouldn't be as bad. However, despite my hopeful expectations, things are never as simple as I complain for them to be.

I went to the basement of the post office I had to wait on line. It wasn't a terribly long line, but when families and different people are on top of each other to "secure" their spot on line it made me feel claustrophobic. After moving the line away from a set of doors, a woman behind me starts complaining about the wait when she's only been on the line for three minutes. I mean granted no one wants to be here as much as I do, but even I knew this would take longer than five minutes.

Something I noticed when I was waiting was that no one's really there to assist people and tell them what they need until they get in the room. There was a family surrounding the front door of the center and they were arguing with one of the workers about having the wrong form of payment. Before coming to the library I already knew what I needed to bring. A check or money order, (because they won't accept cash or credit/debit cards,) a passport photo, my current passport/card, another form of I.D., and you can fill out the form online or in person. But this family, unfortunately, didn't know that and had to leave.

Once I got closer to the front of the line I noticed people were walking out with forms and buzzers; like the kind you get at restaurants to know when your table's ready. Except instead of getting food, you get to go and talk to someone and leave. As I continued to wait on line I kept thinking that since I already have my form, photo, forms of I.D., and check ready I would be done. I was again met with disappointment. Once I met with two women and told them I needed a passport and passport card. They wrote my name down and gave me a blue buzzer and said to wait for it to buzz.

While I sat in the waiting room, (which made me feel like a mental patient in an asylum, but I'm sure that's not a coincidence...) I noticed the line had shortened but the chairs in the waiting room were filling up with people and their crying children--I shared their agony. I could have used my time to read a book or listen to music. Instead I did something that an impatient person like myself should never do at times like: aggravate myself and think of all the things that could've been improved to make the process faster. I thought, "I easily could have renewed my passport online. I have everything ready. Why am I even here?!"

Unfortunately, when you were under 16 when you got your first or second passport, you have to go in person to get a new passport/card.

Finally after one hour of waiting I get buzzed to go in. While there was no food insight, the same two women assist me with my documents. I show them the form, my photo, my permit, and I wait to pay. On one of the forms I filled out online, apparently I didn't read something properly, and had to cross them out. The small print asked for contact information of someone not going out of the country with me. Since I had told them my mother was coming with me they told me to cross out her information. (Why that is completely necessary I have no clue.) Once everything is settled, I'm able to pay. How much you pay depends on if you're getting both the passport and card and how fast you need it done. They let me know when I can expect my passport and I'm finally able to leave.

So although my experience with validating my passport wasn't a thrill, here are some things to take away from this:

1. Bring a check or money order to make the payment and go online to see what you need to bring before hand.

2. Have a passport photo ready.

3. Have another form of I.D. besides your passport like a permit, birth certificate, etc.

4. Make sure to read the documents carefully to avoid making a mistake.

5. Bring something to entertain yourself with while you wait and try to think positive.

You'll only aggravate yourself more if you keep seeing the negative and not look at the bright side. Though these things suck just imagine you and your friends exploring different places, sipping cool drinks on a beach somewhere, and enjoying what the world has to offer. The sky is the limit!