Lost Locker Files #2

The following is an essay from my Advanced Composition class, senior year of high school, circa 1987. I’m not exactly sure what the assignment was, but my essay is about my first solo trip on an airplane, when I went to visit a fellow staffer from summer camp at his college in Chicago (I was living in Pennsylvania at the time). Clearly this trip had a huge impact on me and gave me a taste of the world beyond my small farm town that has never really disappeared.

To Paradise and Back

Alone. Important. A well-dressed executive who is late for a business meeting. Alone. Unimportant. A free-spirited traveler whose only luggage is a trash bag stuffed with wrinkled garb. These are some of the characters I imaged myself being as I boarded a powerful jet at the Allentown Airport.

Anxious to travel alone and become a “worldy woman,” I planned to venture to Chicago, Illinois, to visit friends I had met a summer job. As I sat on the plush, comfortable seats in the lowest, cheapest, and grossest class on the plane, I casually leaned back, read my Cosmopolitan Magazine, and nonchalantly sipped a Diet Coke. “Ah, this is the life!” I thought to myself. As I sat my glass down, I turned out my light and daydreamed of a future when aviation trips would be a part of my regular schedule.

Shaken back into reality by the raucous voice of the stewardess, I buckled my seatbelt and prepared my rested body for the job of the plane landing.

Lined up and feeling like a cow in a heard, I waited for the people ahead of me to disembark, and then I proceeded to file through the door.

As I stepped onto the ground, I felt like Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. Everything around me was so new and interesting. O’Hare Airport was my location, and the air was loaded was excitement. I caught site of a familiar face and attempted to move over to the left. Standing against a ticket counter was Dave, a good friend who had come to save me from the “terrors of the terminal.”

We drove into downtown Chicago for some pizza and then for a walk along Lake Erie. I absolutely fell in love with the city of Chicago and had a desire to stay until the late hours of the night. Unfortunately, we had to leave. We did, however, return a few days later.

Throughout the duration of my five-day visit, I had some great times with old friends. I had many fun experiences on the Wheaton College Campus and in the city of Chicago.

When it was time to leave, I vowed to return. In fact, the whole plane ride home, I reflected on the trip and its benefits. Although it hurt my bank account, I discovered how I was interested in an adventurous lifestyle. I also realized that I never wanted to be tied down.

Grade: 93% – 2% spelling errors = 91% B

*****

It’s interesting to look back at this essay today, 20 years later (!) and reflect on what I wrote. A couple of things jump out at me:

• I’m not quite sure what a “worldy woman” is or why I aspired to become one. (That said, I think I did a pretty good job of becoming one :))
• I still think there’s just about nothing better than sipping an ice-cold Diet Coke.
• Despite my love affair with Chicago, I’ve only been back once (and had a great time then too!). I still find it an incredibly cool city, and if the winters weren’t so cold, I might want to live there.
• While I’m still interested in an “adventurous lifestyle” (whatever that means), I define adventure in new ways today. I’m always open to experiencing new things and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, so I guess in some ways, I’m living the life I hoped I’d be leading when I was 17.
• I’m not sure what I meant by being “tied down” when I wrote this. I do remember that I had especially strong reactions to anyone suggesting that women were supposed to be in a role of a homemaker or that even if they had a career, they’d eventually end up that way. These many years later, I do have a husband and a 2-year-old son, so I guess in some ways that might qualify as being “tied down,” but I can honestly say that because I’m doing work that inspires and ignites me, I’ve actually got more freedom than I could have ever imagined.

Have you had an “aha moment” where you realized there was a world beyond your own backyard that you long to experience? Share your thoughts here!