Embarking on a New Journey
by Olivia Appleton
Waking up at 6:30 a.m. is stretching it for me. Then to catch a bus at 9 and be at the airport at 11, only to wait 4 and a half hours for a flight that doesn’t leave until 3:30 p.m. Screaming babies echo across the airport as my parents, brother, and I wait. We wait to go on a 6-hour flight to San Diego for the very first time.
Since I graduated from high school in 2022, my family and I never got a chance to go on a celebratory trip. We were saving money and work time this past year to go so we can stay longer and do more things. Around a year ago, I chose California because I’ve never been. In fact, I’ve never even been on the West Coast. I’ve always seen it in pictures, but, in real life, it’s been a mystery to me. So why not add this to all the places I’ve been?
Boarding the plane feels felt like a relief. A relief that is quickly vanquished when I realize I’m going to be sitting on an airplane for an additional six hours. Running on three hours of sleep, I am surprisingly energized. I’m not in the best mood, but I know it will all be worth it in the end. A two-week vacation in California is my reward.
I sit between my brother and my mom as my dad sits across the aisle. We haven’t been on a plane in ages, not since our family Florida Disney trip four years ago. I can feel my mom’s nerves as we start to lift off. Out the window, I see more sky than ground as we feel the pull of the plane. My mom grabs my brother’s and my dad’s hands as we take off, while I just smile. I know she’s going to be OK, just a little jostled.
Once we are properly in the sky, I connect to the Wi-Fi and entertain myself. Texting my boyfriend and watching TikToks fill up about an hour. I switch to my book, “The People We Keep,” by Allison Larkin, which takes up a good couple of hours. But I have to stop myself, because I can’t read all of the only book I brought on the trip. I have to save some for our ride back.
I think of the creative writing class I’m taking for half the summer and debate on whether I should do some work for it. I made sure prior to the trip to finish a good amount of work so I don’t need to do too much of it during my vacation. It is an enjoyable class, but I don’t want to be distracted from this experience. I hope by taking this class, I can get one step further in graduating in the spring. More than anything, I want to see the world like my family and I are now.
I look over to my mom, now calm, reading, and my brother watching Netflix from his phone. I lean forward and peer at my dad, who is listening to music and drawing. For the rest of the flight, I switch off of going on my phone and reading and occasionally playing with the baby in the seat in front of me. I watch him, jumping up and down on the seat and grinning with a slimy mouth. He probably won’t remember too much or anything at all of this flight once he gets older. His journey is just beginning.
Sometimes, I can’t believe we’re actually doing this. Traveling as a family to a state we are mostly unfamiliar with. This might be one of our last trips together as a family. Sure, we have my brother’s graduation trip in four years, but, by then, I’m going to be transferred to another college and living somewhere else. I’m going to miss doing this with them. All of the trips we’ve been on as a family have been filled with laughter and fun and many core memories. It’s one of those times when you realize you’re getting older.
Coming to the final hour, the pilot gets us ready to land. My mom grabs my brother’s and my dad’s hands once again as I stare out the window. Palm trees, city buildings, mountains, docks, everything is beautiful. Everything is new. I think my journey is just beginning as well.
Crashing waves in San Diego (Olivia Appleton).
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