Submitted by Sean Freeman on the 2015 winter session program in Hawaii sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
My heart races as I enter the airport for my 6:50am flight to Hawaii. Emotions began taking over my mind and body: What if I don’t have fun? How will I ever adjust to the time zone? What if I don’t make any friends? Why didn’t I just want to stay home and lie on my couch all winter and actually relax like the rest of my friends? All of these questions flow through my mind and I’m texting my boyfriend about 30 texts per minute even though he’s sleeping. I go through security, anxious, scared, and temporarily regretting this decision. Hawaii seemed so beautiful on paper, but now that I’m at the airport it feels like I might have made a huge mistake.
And then I reach the gate. I recognize a few of the girls from the meeting and sit next to them. They immediately go around in a circle and say names, as a huge feeling of relief overcomes me. “ Okay, people are actually nice,” I think to myself as I impatiently await the flight. We begin talking and my anxiety slowly melts away. I start to realize that I’m going to Hawaii! Hawaii! Not only a place I’ve never been before, but also one of the most beautiful places in the world. A place my parents affectionately call Paradise.
A funny thing begins to happen, I start to fell excited. I know that it will take almost 14 hours for us to arrive in Hawaii. This feels like an eternity and I want to get there now. As we board the flight, I begin counting the minutes. Luckily, I manage to sleep most of my flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix, along with the final flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. I’m amazed I can sleep at all because my heart is racing with excitement. I begin to count down, one hour, 50 minutes, 30 minutes…20 minutes and then we are here. In Hawaii! I leave the plane, and my heart jumps out of my chest. I see the beautiful palm trees, mountains, and forests through the windows of the plane. And this is just the beginning.
