How I endured 24 hours of travel and navigated airports on my own for the first time.
Even in the middle of the trek to JFK in the car, it had not yet hit me that I was about to board a plane going halfway across the country. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Sure, I lived on my own at school, but that was an easy hour away from home. Tanzania was quite another story.
My dad drove me to the airport. I was in a trance when we arrived, out of myself as I stared at the people ebbing and flowing all around me. If it wasn't for my father, I don't know if I would have made it to the desk to check my luggage. After we had done so (and after I paid for my grossly overweight suitcase), we lunched at a crappy diner in the airport. Dad said that he could have made a better Reuben himself, but food was food at this point in the long day.
All day I had been tense as fear electrified my nerve endings. When it was time to go through security after lunch, I looked at the gate and knew that on the other side, I was on my own. I hugged Dad goodbye and entered the security line. When I looked back toward the entrance, he was gone, and I felt my heart drop a little bit. Suddenly, a minute later as I was moving through the line, his face popped up again to my surprise--he was fighting through the security line to get to me. All he said was another goodbye, and I thought that he must have wanted to leave me as much as I had wanted to leave him.
They herded us like cattle through security, shouting with angry faces. I didn't really blame them; I would probably act the same way if that was my job. I briefly sat down on the other side to re-order my personal items, then began the mission to locate my gate.
As I walked past the colorful shops and loudness of the airport, I remembered something my dad had said to me when we were departing: that I earned this trip. I worked hard, secured funding, and here I was to reap the reward. He was right. I walked on, but as I hauled my gigantic carry-on backpack, I somehow still felt a little lighter.
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