Let me go

Chapter Two: Freedom

I was alone, for a moment I just enjoyed the feeling of freedom, it was only me against the world, what a great adventure. I took my shoes off and put in a box with my phone, money, bag, and everything in the conveyor belts to be checked in the metal detector. It was my time for the x-ray, I went inside the machine, opened my arms and legs, and I was clear. I grabbed my guitar, all my items from the box, put on my shoes, and went in the direction of my gate to wait for my plane. The airport was huge, all kinds of stores; clothes, fast foods, jewelry, and more. People from all over the world were talking their languages, it felt like a dream: my first international flight.

  I finally found my gate, I went close to the charging station and sat there for a while. My friends were texting me, asking how I was feeling, wishing me good luck, saying to keep in touch. I called some of them, but the time was short and it was almost time to go. I saw people getting up, going to the boarding gate and I decided to follow them. There was a small screen showing the number of groups to go first in numerical order and I was in group seven. The line was moving pretty fast, my anxiety was popping. I couldn't wait to get into the plane and fly away. All I could think was that everything is going to be alright. I was staring at the monitor that said "Group Five," only two more groups and it would be my turn. People were just showing their flight tickets and passports, and I hoped to not mess it up on my turn. Group Six, almost my turn, my heart was beating faster, that was going to be my last minutes in Brazil and I was paralyzed. When I enter that plane my life would start over, a new language, new country, new family, new friends, and that idea started to scared me.

  I looked at the monitor and it said "Group 7", finally my time. I good feeling just came, the adrenaline started to pop, I was excited to get inside the airplane. The line started to move, I showed my passport, ticket, the lady in check-in wished me a good flight and now I was entering in the jet bridge. At the airplane entrance, I asked the flight attendant if she could put my guitar in her closet, and luckily she helped me. Everyone was trying to find their seats, putting their cabin luggage in the overhead bins. My seat was close to the airplane's corridor, making it easy to go to the restroom. I always liked to sit next to the window so I can see the sky, unfortunately, my flight was at night so it did not matter. I was ready for the take-off, the flight attendant started to give the instructions, but I didn't pay attention to her, all I could think was how the future was going to be. When I feel anxious and don't know what is going to happen, I start to think about all the possibilities of the future, I know that it's not a good thing to do but I always do that. The plane was going to take off, I grabbed a stick of gum from my backpack and just tried to stay calm.

  I was in the sky now, flying through time zones and atmospheres. The city lights were getting smaller and smaller until they look like stars and faded away with the dark. I felt free in the air like the world was embracing me for the first time, I was part of something big with great responsibilities. All the things holding me back in Brazil were slowly letting me go. For the first time in my life, I was alone. I had the feeling of being invincible, nothing could stop me, but it didn't last forever.

  After a while, the flight attendant came and I order water and my food; meat, mashed potatoes, pasta, and a salad. I was hungry, but I tried to save the food that I brought from home if I needed it later. I tried to charge my phone only with the USB cable, but it didn't work without the charging box. I literally freaked out, what if my battery dies and I still had hours and hours of flight and airport time. I tried and tried the cable, but it didn't work, so I gave up for the moment. The world was testing me, or I was just dumb enough to forget to bring my charging box.

  I was feeling exhausted after I ate my food. Last night, I'd slept for two hours and I was needing to take a nap. I put my earbuds in, chose a chilling song, and crashed in my seat. I couldn't stop thinking over everything that was happening, but during sleep, my mind went blank for a while. I woke up at two am with the guy in the window seat wanting to go to the restroom. I tried to sleep again and it didn't work. I look to my left, and the guy next to me had the charging box. He was watching a movie and I didn't want to interrupt him, so I gently asked if I could use his box when he was done using it, luckily he let me use it and I felt relieved. I put my phone to charge and watched Fantastic Beasts the Crimes of Grindelwald and after A Star is Born.

  At four AM I had my breakfast and five am I started to see the city of Miami. The flight attendant announced that we were getting ready to land. When we reached the ground, I grab my backpack and waited until people get their luggage and start to walk. By the airplane exit door, I ask for my guitar and they gave it to me, I said thank you so much to the lady and left heading to the airport.

  The airport was huge and I was completely lost. I didn't know where to go, what to do, so I decided to follow everyone that was on the airplane. There was a family with two kids, I stopped to listen carefully and they were speaking Portuguese. I started to talk with them for a while, they explained what I needed to do, and even said that I could come with them to the immigration part. We got inside the train, similar to a subway, and they started to ask what I was doing alone. While I answered them, I couldn't stop thinking about how nervous and afraid I was there. No more internet signal, no communication at all, only myself.

  At the immigration, we went to an APC kiosk. The kiosk scanned my passport, scanned my fingerprints, took a picture of my safe, and asked for some information. After that, I said bye to the family that was with me. The next step was to go to international customs. The lady there asked for my passport, scanned my fingerprints, and asked for the DS-2019. The DS-2019 is a document that allows you to apply for the J1-Visa as a student. She asked questions about where I was going, who I was going to live with, and finally, she let me go.

  Now, I was going to the baggage claim area, so I could check in my luggage and go to Phoenix. The airport was huge, my first time in another country and it felt great. People from all over the world speaking their own languages. I saw a parent speaking Spanish with his son, probably five-years-old, and it was adorable. Everything seemed delightful due to the element of mystery and exotic nature of a foreign country. Signs were in English and Spanish, and I was following the ones that said "Baggage claim", or "Reclamo de Equipaje". Sometimes I asked for information, but it wasn't hard to follow the signs.

  I arrived at the baggage claim area, looking for a grey bag with a green stripe. I thought about the possibility of my bag getting lost on the trip, but after a couple of minutes, I finally found the bag on the conveyor belt. I grabbed and went to the baggage check-in. The Miami airport was huge, probably the biggest one I had ever seen. I walked through the many different stores, bought some gum, a T-shirt saying "MIAMI", which for me was the coolest thing. After I wandered around for some time I went to my flight's gate.

  It was 6:45 am and my mind was going crazy. The excitement and the tiredness were dominating me, I wanted to see my host family but at the same time, I just wished I had a bed to sleep. The airport wifi wasn't working on my phone, so I just stood there for more than an hour doing literally nothing.

  I fell asleep as soon as I sat down on my chair on the airplane. For a moment I felt relaxed like everything was going to be fine, and there was no need to feel nervous or stressed.