Have you ever traveled? If so, was it on a plane thousands of feet up in the air? Well if you haven’t, I hope that one day you get the chance to. I’m in row 30, seat A by the window, anxiously waiting for the plane to touch down in the beautiful sunshine state of Florida. But until then my time is filled with airplane thoughts and people on a plane.
Before the plane takes off, the flight attendants tell you all the rules and regulations of the plane. You know, the rules about being buckled and when you can and can’t use your electronics. They talk about how long the flight will be and how to access safety equipment in case of an emergency. But after all that is over it’s time to buckle up and prepare for take off. At first the ride is a little rough; you might feel this rush of adrenaline as the plane ascends into the air. I close my eyes and imagine myself already at our destination to help distract myself from my nerves. Eventually, the plane stops ascending and then it’s smooth sailing from there until it’s time to descend, unless of course you’re experiencing turbulence (which we did).
As I sit in my seat and look around the plane I think to myself, “What is everyone’s story?” and “Who is everyone?” We’re all on the same plane going to the same place but what are our individual stories? Sometimes people meet on a plane and talk about who they are and what they’re planning on doing when they touch down-- you know, maybe some small talk to pass the time-- but other than that you don’t know anyone on the plane, like their names or what they’re doing. Are they going on vacation for a week and then returning home? Or is the destination their home and they were just visiting family somewhere else? Or maybe they’re moving, starting a new chapter of their life. But in this case, I don’t know anyone’s story on this plane, so for now I’ll come up with their story.
Behind me, in row 31, seat A and B are two people, a man and a woman. The woman is lying on the man’s shoulders. I’m going to say that these two are a couple. They are newlyweds traveling to Florida for their honeymoon. They are madly in love and they can’t wait to spend their whole lives together. What a better way to start out their new journey than to get on a plane for a little getaway to celebrate their marriage?
In front of me, in row 29, seat A there is a boy, he looks about 17 or 18. He is sitting alone but the woman in front of him has turned around a couple times to ask if he needs anything and how he is doing. I’m going to say that the woman is the boys mother. The mother must know the woman next to her, she is older, maybe twice her age, because they seemed to be sharing things like snacks and magazines as well as conversation so I’m going to say that the boy is traveling with his mother and grandmother to visit colleges in Florida. He is excited for college, but as he looks out the window, he is nervous about being so far away from home.
In the row diagonal from me sits a young man, I’d say in his late twenties or so. He is watching a movie and hasn't really seemed to talk with anyone next to him or around him so I’m going to say that he is on this flight alone and is traveling to Florida to visit his girlfriend who recently just moved there for a new job opening. He is planning on moving there as well as soon as he wraps things up in his hometown, but for now he is going to surprise her.
Are these their true stories? Maybe not, but maybe they were. We were just people on a plane thousands of feet up in the air with a story.
