As much as I crave stability, I now realize I crave variety. This quarantine has shown me what I have been searching for my entire life. Peter Pan with a paycheck. I don’t want to be a real grown up. I don’t want a normal life. I want adventure. And fun. And memories. And insane stories to tell and share.
When I started in news, I loved the different stories every day. Everyday was something new. I wasn’t pushing paperwork day after day. No filing, copying, faxing. But ultimately, I’d show up to the same office and sit at the same desk and work on the same computer five days a week. Then I’d go home to the same apartment and go to sleep just to wake up and do it over again.
Flying though.. flying is excitement. Sure our daily service is the same. Sometimes we do three services in a single day. But once you step off that airplane, you’re somewhere new. New airport, new city, new hotel. And you’re with new people! Oh, new people. Remember meeting strangers and shaking hands and introducing yourself? I miss so much the randomness of my days. I miss switching aircraft after each leg. I miss greeting passengers. I miss saying goodbye hundreds of times a day. I miss the way my heels sound when I walk through a crowded terminal.
I miss finding the bright spots of the long days. The kind smile from a stranger when they see another passenger being rude. I miss watching people trying to stow their luggage in a full bin and then exchanging a look with another passenger about the situation.
When all of this first started, I thought it was great. You’re telling me I get to stay home and cook and work out and I’m still getting paid?! (Thank you, union.) I could totally be a trophy wife who stays home! I get all the time to workout and be creative and cook food not in a hotel microwave?! Where do I sign up? But as we move into the second month of this, I realize, no. I need work. I need variety. I need to break up my days.
More than that, I need the freedom that I didn’t know I needed until I started flying. Walking into an airport with endless possibilities in front of you. As long as there’s an open seat, you can go anywhere in the world. Waking up in one country and falling asleep in another country. Time traveling backwards and forwards across the globe.
This is so much more than a job for me. It’s a way of life. It allows me to live a life I always knew I wanted but didn’t know how to describe. A life of adventure. And fun. And new sights with strangers who become friends.
So yes, I do believe I still crave stability. And yes, I know I will always require at least a little planning when it comes to travel. But I also know I need change. I need diversity. I need endless possibilities and I need to explore each one.
AAdventure Seeker 