I adore airports.
There is something about them that makes me feel so happy and excited that I can’t get enough of them.
My family has been an average traveling family since I was young, but we repeatedly made the choice to drive long distances across the country rather than fly. Respectively, there is something I love about car rides or road trips as well, but I would choose flying over driving almost any day. I flew for the first time when I was 2, flying the long distance from Michigan to Hawaii. I do have memories of that trip, including the traveling. I don’t remember being directly on the plane, but I do remember running through the terminal. It is like a memory you’d see in one of the Inside Out movies. It is kind of blurry, and almost all grey, but running through the hallway when you are exiting the airport, with my grandma right behind me, with my Minnie Mouse backpack, and feeling happy. My mom has clarified something similar most likely happened, but I doubt I actually remember anything. Either way, some of my first memories stemmed from an airport. Since then, I flew on an airplane in second grade and fourth grade, and then many more times in more recent years now that my brother and I are older. Beyond that, because of our location, my family has always been designated to pick up family and friends or drop them off at the airport.
It’s so hard to describe what I love about airports. There are simply too many things. When I describe it to people, I say I love the environment that it provides. For the most part, there is an exciting buzz in them that surrounds each person. Even if arriving home, there is just a buzz of traveling and experiencing new things while also resisting old memories. Even during the stressful times of delays, or missing items, there’s always an excited aura that accompanies it. Even after arriving home, you have returned from an exciting adventure to a new or familiar place and are going back to your safe and sound home.
My favorite thing is wearing a cute airport outfit. I’m always refreshed at the airport, with my comfy and stylish outfit of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I start thinking of my perfect outfit months prior. I feel confident, adding to origin excitement. I will sometimes purposefully walk back and forth between bathrooms, restaurants, and water fountains just because I want to show off my outfit to the imaginary people I envision watching me.
Even if I’m sitting in the uncomfortable, packed-in chairs, scrolling endlessly on TikTok or whatever useless activity I may choose, I feel as if I am catching up on time. Although it may not be a productive activity, I automatically feel refreshed and like I’m making up lost time.
If I could, I would sit and wait for an hour in an airport. People may assume I’m insane, but it really is one of my favorite places.
