Footprints

one

My plane leaves for Germany in one hour. I'm waiting at the airport. A thousand thoughts and emotions are swirling in my head. I'm not sure if I should be sad, excited, or nervous. As a result, I'm all three. My parents are sitting beside me, trying to talk to me, but all I can do is nod or shake my head. Everything seems like a dream; slow motion and unreal. I can't believe I'll be leaving everything I know so well behind, my home, my school, my family, even if it's only for a year.

"Jenika, are you listening?" My mom's voice breaks through my thoughts.

"What? Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" I startled out of a daze.

"Just how much your dad and I will miss you." She gives my hand a squeeze.

"I'll miss you guys a lot, too." I give her hand a squeeze back. I don't know what to say. The minutes trickle by. Nervous energy courses through me. I check my watch. 2:20. They'll start boarding passengers in 10 minutes. I gather my bags together and take out a piece of gum and pop it into my mouth. 2:25. An announcment calls that children flying alone will be loading in 5 minutes. I'm still considered a child even though I'm thirteen. Whatever. I turn to my parents.

"Bye, I guess." I say giving them each a long hug.

"This is an amazing opportunity, Jenika. You'll do great." My dad says, smiling sadly.

"I'm so proud of you. Have a great time in Germany." My mom has tears in her eyes..

"I love you! I'll text as soon as I get over." I smile back, fighting the urge to cry. 2:30. I give them one last hug, wave goodbye, and walk over to the line of passengers. I hand the flight attendants my ticket and board the plane. Everything is blurry. I might be crying, but I'm not sure. At this point, I don't really care. I find my seat and wait for everyone else to board. After what seems like forever, we start down the runway. As the plane lifts into the air I look back at the airport, back at Seattle, Washington, back at everything I'm used to. The city seems so small and fragile from 30,000 feet in the air. Maybe things are small and fragile in general, we just don't realize it until we're given a chance to look upon it. I take one last glance down and then look away.

This is it, I think to myself, This is the start of my adventure.