I struggle with the weird seatbelt and the lady next to me looks at me like I’m an idiot. It’s not my fault I’ve never been on a plane before, I think. The plane isn’t all I thought it would be. It’s about two rows of ten seats and it smells really weird. Of course the smell could be coming from the obnoxious man in front of me. The seats aren’t in the best condition and this makes me nervous. If the airline doesn’t care about the seats, could that mean they don’t take good care of the plane itself?

The plane comes to life and begins to move. It takes a complete turn and stops for an instance. Is something wrong? I wonder. But the plane begins to move forward. It is getting faster and faster and my heart is racing. My hearts beating as fast as the plane is moving!

“We’re gonna crash!” The man in front of me yells. He lifts his arms up to reveal huge sweat marks on his grey tank top. He is probably about twenty five, but for his age he’s awfully annoying.

A baby in the background starts crying and the plane speeds up again.

“Woohoooo!!” The man’s loud voice bellows again.

Has he been drinking? I think to myself and smirk a bit. The plane lifts and my stomach drops. I feel tons of pressure and my body presses harder into the seat. I clench my teeth and close my eyes tight. My ears pop and my heart continues to beat faster.

“Where ya headed to?” The woman behind me asks. This is definitely not the right time to be making small talk.

“Uuuhh I’m heading to North Carolina. I’m visiting my Aunt and Uncle there. “ I stammer out. The plane is still gaining altitude.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit North Carolina. I hear it’s so beautiful there. My sister used to visit the Carolinas and she said it was just green, green, green everywhere.” She says.

“Ya it’s pretty nice,” The plane bounces a little and I clench the hand grips on my seat.

“Where are your parents?”

“Oh, they decided not to come. I’m all by myself. “ I reply

“Wow. Your mom must be real nervous.” My mom? Maybe I’m nervous! I’m the one suspended in air, relying solely on Bernoulli’s principle!!
“Ya, she can be pretty hysterical sometimes.” I just want this conversation to end! The lady just took a fake cat out of her bag and is petting it like it’s a real cat.

I politely end the conversation and put my earbuds in. Then I realize it. I’m flying! I’m hundreds of feet off of the ground and I’m totally calm! In fact I’m more than calm. This is kind of fun! I open the shutter on my window and look out. It’s a weird feeling. All the cars look like small ants against the green and black landscape.

The flight attendant walks by with the drink cart and offers me a soda. i gratefully accept and continue looking out the window listening to some of my favorite music. It turns out, I really like this whole flying thing!