Behind The Scenes #Wattys2016

two.

When I awoke the next morning, a thought popped into my head: You're going to college!

I quickly got dressed, and ran downstairs. My mother was already making breakfast. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, reading his morning newspaper.

"Hello pumpkin," he said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, a smile on my face. Even though I might only go for two years, at least I can go.

I finished my breakfast in a flash, and we loaded up the car. Already, we were pulling out of the driveway and on our way to the airport. Butterflies filled my stomach. I don't think I could keep my breakfast down.

We rode in silence, nothing but the sound of the radio quietly playing.

"I'm gonna miss you," my mother said suddenly.

"Me too," said my father.

Just those words were enough to make my brain explode. Light tears started rolling down my cheeks.

"I love you guys," I said. "You're the best parents any girl can ask for. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be living such a beautiful life."

Now we were all crying. I can't believe I am leaving the home that I had lived in for eighteen years.

When we reached the airport, the first thing we did was hug. I don't know how long we were standing there, but it was nice. We pulled away, and starting grabbing my luggage. We navigated through the airport, such a foreign place, until we finally found my flight.

"I'll come back at Christmas, I promise. My break is in February, so I'll be home for two weeks. Which in my opinion, isn't enough."

I remember when I was little, and I always dreamed of leaving for college, and living in my own place. Now that it's actually happening, I couldn't believe it.

Before I could cry anymore, I hugged them one last time, then turned to board the plane. It was hard to carry all my luggage, without the strength of my dad. My heart hung heavy, without the comfort of my mother. I packed away my things, and sat down in my seat. During the first ten minutes, I did nothing but look out the window. When we finally left Kentucky, knowing that there was no going back, I took out my book, Prodigy, and read.

I finished the book by the time we got to Oklahoma. I was so exhausted, so I pulled out my neck pillow and went to sleep. Even though it was very uncomfortable, I zonked the minute I closed my eyes. When I awoke, it was thunder-storming outside. The turbulence was terrible. Some people got very worried, and one toddler starting crying. I don't usually get nervous about this, but I was starting to. The pilot said everything would be alright, but the flight attendants didn't look so sure. I asked where we were, and they said the very tip of Texas. Right after they replied, all the attendants gathered at the front and told everyone to put on their seatbelts, and explained where the oxygen mask was, just in case. Some people couldn't even hear them, because the thunder was so loud. The toddler was still crying, and the mother looked desparate. I could tell she knew that she couldn't tell her child everything would be okay, because she didn't know so herself.

I just buckled my seatbelt very tightly, and closed my eyes. Deep breaths, my dad would always say, deep breaths will always calm you down. And it did. After about an hour of scary turbulence, the storm calmed down just to rain, so the plane was level again. Every was so relieved, one person even cheered.

Finally, after two more hours of sleeping, reading, eating, and listening to music, we arrived at California. The blazing sun quickly filled the whole plane with heat, but it was better than lightning. I packed everything up, and ran off of the plane. I can't believe I'm going to have to go on that again. I looked around for my Aunt Shailene, who lived in California, and would be able to take me to my college. I finally spotted her, wearing a bright pink outfit. She loved to wear outfits that were all one color. I ran to her, and she smiled.