Recently, I have been traveling a lot on many different airplanes. Recently, I have had a lot of conversations with people I don’t know.
On my way to Dallas, TX for the Alabama vs. Wisconsin game, I had the window seat, “Yes!” I thought to myself. I was ready to plug in my headphones, listen to the next episode of Serial and sleep to make the flight go by faster. Little did I know this was not going to be the case.
The man next to me began talking and it didn’t stop until we landed in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. I would turn the other way, clearly put my headphones in, or put my face down, everything to stop this man from talking to me. He would tell me he couldn’t see the headphones because of my long hair, or say “I promise this is the last time I will talk to you.”
The thing is, we learn a lot from fellow travelers on airplanes. It can be an easy way for you to meet someone you never thought you would have the opportunity to meet. Fascinating or aggravating, you were placed there in 27B to meet the person next to you for the duration of the flight.
The man next to me was interviewing me; well that is how it felt. Maybe this was practice for when I look for my first real-world career. His wife actually did end up working in a journalistic field, so it ended up being somewhat helpful.
He did ask me about attending school at the University of Alabama, so I was there to offer free advice for his daughters. We were both there that day to offer advice to each other in a way we did not expect when we walked through the long tarmac to board our Delta jet.
On my flight to Alaska two summers ago, the older woman next to me told me about her experiences dating her now husband while he was in the Army, and only communicating though hand-written letters. She was now going to Alaska to see where he was stationed almost 50 years earlier.
On my flight to Orlando last November, a woman broke down in tears next to me for the entire flight. She was finally traveling to see her children after ten years without them.
Airplane conversations can take you to places that you didn’t think were possible. In a way it humbles you, because sometimes you have no idea what the person next to you is thinking or has experienced.
Sometimes it enriches you, offering a conversation about far away places and experiences from the person who has seen it all. Sometimes it opens your eyes to cultures, languages and great love stories.
Next time you are dreading your long flight, or even your short one, opt to forget your headphones. You never know what the person next to you is ready to talk about, the loved one they are going to visit, or the complicated journey today that has gotten them to 27A, right next to you.
