My most stressful travel experience and what I learned
In my previous post, I wrote about one of my favorite travel memories. Today I’m writing about one of my most stressful travel experiences and what I learned (don’t worry, I’ll be back to posting my entries to my 30 days of journaling for self-discovery posts tomorrow).
This post is about when, despite checking in and clearing security with over two hours to spare, I nearly missed an international flight.
In June, I flew from New Zealand to Belize. As there aren’t any direct flights from New Zealand to Belize, this trip involved a 14-hour flight, a 15-hour layover, followed by another two-and-a-half-hour flight.
My stopover was in Houston, Texas, and to ensure a hassle-free experience, I stayed at the Houston Airport Marriott. The hotel is conveniently located between Terminals B & C, with a complimentary subway and a walkable tunnel connecting the hotel to all airline terminals. How could anything go wrong?!
I was checked out of the hotel three and a half hours before my flight and had made it through security and located my gate with a little over two hours to spare.
Before boarding started, I did some window shopping before stopping at CIBO Express to grab a few things for my journey (a drink, a protein bar, and melatonin so I could establish a sleep routine as quickly as possible to ensure I wasn’t a jet-lagged gremlin when I arrived).
As I checked the time to see how much longer I had before boarding, I realized boarding should have started 20 minutes earlier. Confused, I took out my boarding pass and my heart dropped into my ass — I’d been at the wrong gate the entire time.
Normally, in situations like this, I shut down and spiral into self-deprecating thoughts like “What the fuck is wrong with you?” and “Of course you would make this kind of mistake.”
This time, however, I got up and ran to the correct gate hoping I hadn’t missed my boarding call ( I still had a minute, so there was still a chance I could make it)
As I approached my gate, I was relieved my flight was still boarding. However, I had doubts it was the correct one. The fear of repeating my earlier mistake or that I’d missed my flight and the next one was boarding was strong, so I quadruple-checked my boarding pass and the gate number. Luckily, this was indeed my gate, so I got in line, glad I wasn’t the last person on the plane.
Once settled into my seat I reached out to friends and family to share the hilarious (yet nerve-wracking) tale of how, despite my best efforts, I almost missed my flight. Because, let’s be real, sharing is caring, and if I didn’t laugh at the absurdity of almost missing my flight with more than enough time to board I would have burst into tears.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful, as I slept for most of the flight — although I did have a moment of panic when I realized I had lost my printed luggage tag while running toward my gate. Luckily, my suitcase was waiting for me when I arrived.
What did I learn from this experience?
Double-checking details
I learned the importance of verifying essential details like gate numbers and boarding times.
Maintaining composure
Remaining composed and taking action to rectify situations is important and it demonstrates resilience and adaptability in stressful circumstances.
Sharing experiences:
I recognized the value of sharing my travel mishaps with friends and family. Sharing the good as well as the bad fosters connection and through shared experiences — everyone makes mistakes.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation — missed a flight or experienced any airport or airplane horror stories? Feel free to take the piss out of me too if you’d like, the more we share the more we connect, and if you get to laugh at my expense, so be it!
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