The Morning Before Our 7:15 AM Flight
It was around 5:30 AM when we were in the car driving to the Dallas Airport when my friend and I realized we had both left our wallets; the drive back was 40 minutes and we didn’t have time. I realized that I had left mine in College Station, the night before we drove up to Dallas. My friend, who we will call A, had left her wallet in her car and didn’t remember to grab it. We were understandably nervous about this because we all know TSA can be aggressive but attempted amidst our delirious state (we got 3 hours and 30 minutes of sleep) to stay calm, cool, and collected. We got dropped off at 6 o’clock, there were sounds that overwhelmed the morning, a whistle from a man directing traffic, honking from impatient drivers, and the murmuring of people. At this point, we figured we needed something to show TSA, but the only thing we had was pictures of our driver’s license, which I get, could be fake, but I feel like that is so much work just to catch a flight. I was wearing little Hollister shorts and a loose-fitted gray t-shirt. I had dad shoes on and ankle socks, I didn’t exactly feel or look like I was up to no good. We went inside and got our tickets, easily. But the hard part was just ahead of us. We got in line and did the laboriously walk of shame where the police officer is looking at you suspiciously and everyone and their mother looks irritated by the existence of others.
This was the part where the TSA people got us. They got us good. I showed them my ID picture on my phone and immediately, this guy picks up his phone and called the “IVPCC” or whatever it was he said. I can’t remember, it was extremely early as I mentioned. The TSA employees took us away to a corner by the line and pulled out these old phones which were locked in metal cabinets. Upon reflection, I don’t think they were locked but the whole thing was bizarre and in retrospect, hilarious. We were asked if we had anything to indicate who we were, and the only thing we had was medication. We were pestered some more, and the workers were both very shocked at us for forgetting something so important. If they were shocked, let it be noted we were beside ourselves crying and throwing up from anxiety (we didn’t actually cry). After a few questions, they took us through TSA and we were personally searched and escorted through the line. Success, I was able to get through TSA with no wallet or ID. By this time, it was 6:30 AM; A wasn’t through TSA and my other friend who we will call B, was already headed to our gate because we boarded at 6:40 AM.
As soon as she was done we made a mad dash to our gate and were able to sit together. The plane ride was boring, but here are the highlights:
- the cranberry juice (rocked my world)
- the pressure from take-off
- having a row to ourselves
- WINDOW SEAT!!
- the views
- the fact that the plane was silent
We had a layover in Nashville and got the breakfast we had waited so long for and done so much to get to. My latte was light and foaming and the gluten-free banana muffin I ate was alright, but in that moment nothing compared. We waited for about an hour to board the next plane, and we boarded last and were sadly split apart. I sat between two people and felt like I was intruding on their space, so for the whole ride I made myself as small as I could be and I was the perfect passenger. I didn’t hog the armrest, I wasn’t loud, and I didn’t even get up to use the bathroom – even though I really needed to. We arrived at about 1:30 PM.
The Journey
The descent to New York was covered by the window slide, and the person near the window didn’t open the slide so there was no “Welcome to New York” Taylor Swift moment. Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and headed out to the gate. The airport had a lot of places to eat, drink, rest, or do whatever you needed. But what we needed was to figure out how to get to our AirBNB. After about 30 minutes of looking at Apple Maps, we had a goal and a way. However, it also took us another 20 minutes to figure out we needed a Metrocard to ride the bus. We later realized we could use apple pay. Considering only one of us had our cards, that was a good option. Cashapp was utilized a lot during this trip. It was really surreal for us. I know that for some, New York is their home and it’s strange to see tourists come into your space. We did our best not to invade people’s privacy. On the bus, we quietly took it all in with our bags shoved under the seats and our gaze out at the city. We stayed in Queens, about an hour train ride to Manhattan. I know this may be too far away for some people, but we liked going into the city. When we went in we stayed there because it was a tedious task to get all the way back. As a result of this, when we got to our place we did not go out that evening. Instead, we binge-watched the entire Season 4, Part 1 of YOU. For dinner, we ate trail mix and fruit. We didn’t feel like going out and we hadn’t had to sustain food all day, but we were so blissfully tired we went to bed at a respectable 9:30 PM.
Our journey into the city began at 8:30 AM when we all woke up. It took us only a couple of minutes to get ready and then we were off to the best place capitalism ever conceived: DUNKIN DONUTS. We all got creamy coffees and breakfast sandwiches, gulping down our drinks and savoring every bite. I hadn’t seen B in a long time, neither had A and so we took this time to catch up. I saw my friends as they were now; adults with ambition and drive. We all had things we wanted and I saw the willpower in them to achieve that. We were in New York, a place I swore I would never go to. Yet, I wasn’t even in the city and I was overcome with the strange sensation NYC brings. That feeling echoes in my skull now, but it is not the same.
We caught up and laughed, and it felt good to have friends that would share in a memorable experience with me like this. We headed to the subway to go into the city as soon as we were down. On the train, I studied people’s body language and I wondered if they noticed mine. I languidly leaned on a pole in the middle of the cart, the hum of the wheels creeping into my feet, holding me there. The rides on the subway felt so short because of this recurring feeling. It was upsetting really, because I knew Texas was not the place I was meant to be. We all left with that feeling.
In the city, we went sightseeing until about 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The pictures had been taken, and after sitting on my phone waiting for the photo-taking to end, my phone died. I have an iPhone six and the battery is not very good. The failure of my phone didn’t surprise me; I had brought my charger. And forgotten the block. At the time, we were in pursuit of the Empire State building, and unfortunately, that had to wait. We hiked to the only place for the people, the only reliable source, the “New York Public Library.” This was when we discover the hour of crafting sessions the library does. The old ladies were nice and one of them let me burrow their block. We waited for 2 hours, colored and sketched, and cut paper. When people think of making core memories, I suppose it’s memories where something big happens to them. But this wasn’t big, it was simply our hands and eyes meeting on the paper, crossing lines, thumbing the material, and breathing steadily. After hours of walking around we had previously done, it was good to slow down. Our day continued with walking and eating good food. We got coffee at a cafe and I ordered a Tumeric Latte. I had one in Philly and it was amazing, so my expectations were considerably high; it was god-awful. But our dinner was food from a diner that felt like a gas station and that, however, was spectacular, I got udon soup. That evening, after more walking and a trip to Sephora, we finally went to visit our friend at Columbia University. The reunion was tense. In the past few months, I had felt insecure in our relationship. I wondered at times if I had been forgotten. I am glad I wasn’t. That evening as we took the subway to the Bronx, our friend got a tattoo with his boyfriend and I sat on the bench outside the room and wept for a very long time. I felt like how a mother must feel; proud yet mournful, we are growing up and there is nothing I can do about it. However, this trip helped ease that pain, I could breathe again knowing the people I loved were growing into visions we had dreamed of years before.