Hey y’all!
If you have been following me on my YouTube, you would know that I was just in Dallas to visit and hangout with the cast and band of Godspell! They were on a 3 month National Tour around the United States and their last stop was in Dallas, Texas. You can either stop here and go check out my vlogs now on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/sarahhtranTV or you can just keep on reading.
Travel Day | Feb 23, 2014
This was my very first time flying by myself and I was most certainly nervous about it for my trip to Dallas. The first airport I flew out of was small so it wasn’t so bad finding my way around and I breezed through security.
Some tips to make your security experience smooth sailing for carry-ons:
– Take out your laptop before hand so you can put it in its own bin
– Pack your liquids in ziplock bags and put them at the top of your baggage so when you unzip they are easy to take out and place into bins. (each liquid should not exceed 100mL/3.4oz
– Don’t wear any jewelry that is difficult to take off (earrings, necklaces, etc.)
– Wear footwear that are easy to remove (zip up boots, slip on shoes)
Not only was this my first time travelling alone, it was my first time flying in over 5 years. From what I remember, when I was younger, I did not enjoy flying. To me, take off felt like my seat was at a 90 degree angle and during the whole flight, I felt like I was at the top of the CN Tower looking down at the ground through the glass floor (basically, I was constantly tense and palms were sweaty). Before this trip, I started reading facts about flying from this website called “Flying Without Fear” (link: http://www.flyingwithoutfear.com) and I kid you not, it really did calm my nerves. I was of course still nervous but I was a lot more calm about stepping on to the plane.
On my first flight to Atlanta, the plane was a medium sized plane (5 column seats) and the nice man I sat next to turned out to be a pilot! He was on his way to Wichita to do some training since pilots are required to every so often. Not going to lie, sitting next to a stranger who was a pilot was mentally comforting. I told him about my fear of flying and he basically told me the same thing from the website I read (Flying Without Fear). This first flight was when I discovered take off did not feel the same from what I remembered. My seat did NOT feel like it was at a 90 whatsoever! Jeeze did I feel silly.
So we landed safely in Atlanta, and I remember my boyfriend John telling me, when you get off the plane there will be a monitor in the airport when you enter that will let you know where your connecting flight is. I had about 25 minutes to get to my next flight and I really had to pee. I entered the airport, looked at the monitor, saw DALLAS TEXAS Terminal A Gate 27. Done, I ran to the washroom. If any of you have been to Atlanta’s airport, you’d know that it’s massive. You have to take the airport train/subway to your terminal if you weren’t already in it. I was in Terminal B when I arrived so I had to head to A by the train. I hopped on, got to my gate and WHAM I made it with 15 minutes to spare! 10 minutes roll by and they start boarding the plane. I have NO IDEA what prompted me to keep looking at the gate screen but I did. I stared for the next 2 minutes. Shortly, I realized that I was not at the right gate. Sure, this flight was going to Dallas but it was flying into Dallas Fort Worth Airport and the plane I was supposed to be on was headed to Dallas Lovefield Airport! I panicked and my instinct was to not try to be a hero and just ask someone who works at the airport. I approached the first person I saw and she told my I was in terminal D gate 21 !!! eeeeekkk!! I looked at my watch I had 2 mins. I started running with my duffle bag (luckily my luggage carry-on was checked-in for free since they asked for volunteers) and I have never ran so hard in my life. I was huffing and puffing but knew that if I missed this flight I’d my screwed. Okay so I’m not going to make you panic but long story short, I didn’t think I would make it… but I did. JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME!
Now on this second flight, the person I sat next to was a very sweet woman who only seemed a few years older than me and we bonded quite well. Again, I lucked out. I soon found out that she is a doctor! haha once again… very comforting (just incase I had a heart attack or anxiety :P). Anyways, this flight was just as smooth as the first one, however it was rather claustrophobic (4 seats across and about 15 rows maybe?). But to sum it all up, I made it into Dallas just fine!
The things I learned:
– ALWAYS check your flight # and airport when you are connecting flights!
Anyways, I left this detail out in my vlogs and wanted to add it in so I remember my first experience flying alone. Swing by my channel if you want to see my trip visually with some head bopping music (actually I’ll make it more convenient and link the videos down below for ya!)
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Cheers!
xo
SARAH TRAN 