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5 Ways to Avoid Boredom On A Plane

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Miami (OH) chapter.

Are you going abroad this winter term or visiting your relatives that live across the country? Sounds like you’ll be going on a plane. Sometimes the excitement of being transported to a new destination makes it hard to fall asleep on a long plane ride, making the trip very boring or even dreadful. Despite how fascinating it may be to look out of the plane window and only see the clouds beneath you, here are a few ideas to keep yourself busy for everything from a one hour direct flight to a several hour-long trip, while sitting on a plane seat that only reclines all of about two inches. Did we already mention how hard it is to catch some z’s on a plane?

1. Play CardsWhy not make a new friend next to you on the plane if he or she isn’t already snoring. If you happen to sit next to a friend you’re traveling with then you already have an opponent! If worse comes to worse, you can always play solitaire. We all know it already does the trick to pass the time in during MBI, right?  

2. Read A Book (For Fun)During the semester, reading any books that are not textbooks or required for school are usually out of the question. Maybe over the summer you started an awesome series, but didn’t have time to finish it. On a plane you have nothing but time, so kick back and venture into a novel recommend by your friends or just something that caught your eye in the airport bookstore. Our recommendation: Yes Please by Amy Poehler

3. Have A Killer PlaylistSure it can sometimes be fun listening to the music that is already on your phone from a few years ago (Flashback Friday playlist, anybody?), but it can get boring pretty fast. Before you depart, download some new music and create the ultimate travel playlist. If you’re playlist gets stale, channel your inner gamer. Games can be distracting during school and they can get addicting, resulting in extreme procrastination. With no homework in sight, download Trivia Crack.

4. Catch Up On Your Foreign LanguagesMost people around the world understand or can speak some English, but that not a guarantee. If you want to get your point across to the locals or need help finding the coolest attraction, try learning some general phrases in the language of where you are traveling. For example, some etiquette terms like “please” and “thank you” can keep you from coming off as rude to a waiter as a restaurant.

5. Get Your Craft OnRemember when your grandma taught you how to knit and you started on a scarf, but you got tired of knitting so you quit. Well now is the opportune time to finish it and brag to your friends that you made it yourself. If knitting isn’t your thing, pick up your old friendship bracelet making skills, you remember, the ones you gave to all of your friends? Sure it may seem kind of childish, but celebrities from Jennifer Lawrence to Kylie Jenner have been seen sporting these types of bracelets by Ettika for months now (People StyleWatch).

Jennifer is a Junior contributing writer for Her Campus Miami (OH). She is also a member of Alpha Delta Pi and the marketing chair of club swim team. Her hometown is Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
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Ellie Conley

Miami (OH)

Ellie Conley is a senior at Miami University. She is the current Editor-In-Chief and the former Publicity Coordinator for the Miami (OH) Chapter of Her Campus.