For most people, airports are breeding grounds for stress. They’re full of people, germs, and deadlines. While I totally get that, and I’ve definitely had my fair share of upsetting or stressful experiences with plane travel, there is something I love about airports. In fact, I’m sitting in an airport at this exact moment, waiting. While many find airport waiting extremely boring, I enjoy spending the waiting time watching other people.

There are crowds of people from all walks of life, trying to get home, going to college, celebrating anniversaries, and exploring new countries. There are hundreds of languages spoken, tons of families, and thousands of backstories. A large part of my time is spent wondering what each person’s story is, what it would be like to follow them around like a documentarian. Some people appear similar to many in my hometown, tempting me to strike up a conversation and find out whether we come from the same stomping ground. Others sound so different that I can’t pinpoint which region of the world they come from. In an airport, I always have this strange feeling that we all come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. As someone who loves memories and backstories, I can’t help but feel interested in strangers. More than anything, it’s comforting to know that people exist outside of my world. On a college campus, sometimes it feels suffocating with other students. It’s nice to realize that little kids, retired grandparents, and large families are alive and well in our world.

I also love airports because of the endless possibilities. I’ve come to the realization that I feel trapped in small communities. That’s not to say that I don’t like being at home or vacationing in small towns, but when I feel stuck in one area without transportation or a means of exploring outside the boundaries, I stress more than usual. After these few months, I now realize that living in a small college community is difficult. When I sit in an airport, it makes me feel lighter and freer to know that there are flights going to bustling cities, far-away countries, and my own home. Regardless of whether I actually take those flights, it lightens my spirits to know that I am not limited by one location and that there are new places to be discovered.

This time of night, the airport is busy. People want to get home to their families and pets and eat a home-cooked meal. Many people are looking up sleepily from their airport meals, only dreaming about their beds. Some are chaotic and scattered, and others are excited to be finished with their travels. While many people around me are probably setting Guinness World Records with their speed walking or obsessively checking their phones and watches, I’m sitting at a table enjoying a decently pleasant meal, waiting, watching, and escaping my own stress by imagining all kinds possibilities.