We have reached the final days. Or should I say finals days. We have yet to see the light of a true break (thanks Thanksgiving but you were only a mirage of rest) and the gauntlet of overbearing projects and tests await us. May every sip of caffeine and permanent headache treat us not as harshly this finals season. (Can you tell I’ve been watching Game of Thrones?)

I’ve started to spend more and more time in airports recently since starting at college. Before, I had only ever flown a few times and I can only remember passing snippets of my experiences in airports. The first time I flew alone last Thanksgiving was so nerve-racking and I remember trying to read everything I could about how to navigate everything in the airport from security to bathroom lines. The worst part about it all, too, was that my gate wasn’t displayed until the very last second and nobody knew where it was so I was running frantically up and down DTW with tears streaming down and my mom on the phone with me and the airport’s customer service. It wasn’t until I saw the shining gold and maroon of Goldy Gopher on someone’s shirt and his son in a matching University of Minnesota hat that I knew I was in the right place. With red eyes and a runny nose I went up to them and asked if this was the flight back to Minneapolis and they said “well I sure hope so I’ve got a Thanksgiving to have.” (or at least that’s what they would’ve said if I didn’t look so distraught). I think about this moment a lot and the other random and various encounters with people I’ve had at the airport and on my flights since then. Traveling alone is somewhat freeing but also lonely. I have no family to nag me or herd me somewhere but then I also have no one to share an overpriced breakfast with as I wait for my 5am flight. It’s the moments I share with other travelers in our cocoon of the airport that take me away from the loneliness of traveling and remind me that it doesn’t have to be so isolating being in a sea of people. From talkative kids who show me their coloring pages on their mom’s phones to tired comrades making small talk and waiting 20 minutes in line for a cup of coffee, the airport becomes a world of its own. There’s something about an entire building of people coming from separate places to journey together to another one just to split off and continue separately again that is so magical to me in a way. We make this huge monetary and time commitment to get to various places for various reasons, whether its for family or vacation or work, and exist in this space together lost in our own little worlds. Yet there are those moments that spark connection in the mundane, like a cup of coffee or a coloring page of a pumpkin, that pull us out of ourselves and into the wider world of the airport. We exist together yet separate but that separation is what brings us together in the end. I’ve started to enjoy airports as a solo traveler since my first incident with the mystery of the gate, and I think in large part it’s because of this acceptance of loneliness and togetherness that is inherent to the place. Maybe I think too much into these things but hey, would I be me if I didn’t?

To take into our next week:

Ins: Facebook Marketplace (always), on-the-go Advil containers, potatoes (always), the smell of a great perfume in passing, the song “Wide Open Spaces”, the AC vent right above my bed that keeps me warm and toasty.

Outs: Not sleeping on the plane, cashmere scented things (is that a real scent?), thin socks, even thinner gloves, nuts, fever dreams.

I salute you all in future endeavors of passing classes, getting home safely, and spending time for some real rest and relaxation. See you all next year! (hahahahahahahaha ;P)