As I sit at the Starbucks across from my gate at O’Hare International Airport, I think about what a whirlwind the last hour was. I got to the airport two hours before my flight, excited, but anxious to be flying alone because I enjoy people’s company more than the normal human, and tired from lack of coffee.

I had no idea the next two hours would bring me more stress than I had had in a long time. Instead of being halfway to my destination up in the sky, I am still at the airport writing this article because I, my friends, missed my flight.

Now, as a newbie to flying alone, missing my flight was probably number 5 on my list of things I never wanted to experience, next to car break down, computer crash, and being trapped in an elevator. As I ran to my terminal door only to see it shut and those amongst me arguing with staff to let them on the plan because technically they still had four minutes, I went from stressed out to full-on panic mode.

After seeing endless people running from security to their gates with no shoes on because every second counted, and women crying in the bathroom because they, too, had missed their flights, I began to think clearly about what happened.

I calmed down, called my mom and got on the next flight four hours later. When I finally was sitting across from my gate, I thought harder and realized -- it wasn’t that bad.

You heard me. It wasn’t that bad. So what? I missed my flight. That just gave me more time to grab a snack and some coffee and people watch. It gave me a chance to calm down and really look at the situation. Worse things have happened.

Perhaps this epiphany came to me as well, because I received a message that Dayton University’s center for basketball died of a heart attack this morning.

Here I was worried about a flight being a little later than I wanted it to be, and someone out there just lost their son, their brother, their friend.

How selfish was I to think I was having one of my worst days, when there are so many people out there going through real problems, and most are doing it with a smile on their face.

So as I see the people freaking out at the airlines, running through the airport panic stricken I wonder if they will realize that it could be worse.

In fact, maybe this happened for a reason. For me, maybe I was late because I was meant to write this article, or help the girl in front of me in security when she dropped all her belongings. Some of the best adventures and stories I have come from moments that were not meant to be. They come from times I woke up late, got on the wrong metro line, got lost in the middle of no where, or had the car break down on the way to Purdue.

Life is too short to panic and stress over the little things. For a highly anxious and generally flustered person, I am learning this. But each time something like this happens I get better and better at handling it and thinking about the bigger picture.

I like to think everything happens for a reason and perhaps me missing my flight taught me to think about others. Maybe I missed it to learn a lesson, that things could be worse and living life anxious and stressed will do me know good. Because sometimes all you can do is go with what is thrown at you, thank those that help keep you sane, and thank God that things aren’t worse.