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My Favorite Trip

  • Writer: kashifmalik3
    kashifmalik3
  • Oct 2, 2018
  • 3 min read

The most memorable trip I have taken happened to be across 3 cities within 24 hours.


Let me explain.


I had a flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia through American Airlines. Ideally, I thought taking the last flight of the day would be a soothing way to relax before heading to school. BOY WAS I WRONG. After a 2 hour delay due to "weather", my flight ended up getting canceled. So, as a perfectly normal human being would do, I began to panic. I went to the ticket counter and asked if there was any way to get to Philadelphia that same night. She began typing away with her eyes glued to the screen frantically trying to find a solution. The odds were against me because it was so late and most of the last flights had already left. She looked up and smiled. It's that kind of smile where you know something great is about to happen but at the same time you know there are strings attached. She said,"Do you want the good news or bad news first?" The good news was that there was a flight leaving to Charlotte leaving at the next gate and that I could catch a connecting flight to Philadelphia. The bad news? The layover was only 12 minutes. 12 MINUTES! I take longer in the bathroom on a good day! To put this in perspective, by the time I would land the other flight would be 2 minutes away from closing their plane doors. In that exact moment I wasn't afraid of missing the flight. I wanted an adventure (and didn't want to stay in Cincinnati lol). I jumped on the Charlotte flight and off I went. We landed In Charlotte and I quickly pulled out my phone to see if I had enough time to reach the other flight. We landed 30 minutes early. I have never smiled so big like that unless the Bengals win. We begin to pull up to the gate and drastically stop right before pulling in. 5 minutes go by. 10 minutes go by. I look out the window to see if I could connect some pieces as to why we weren't moving but no luck. A loud bing goes off in the cabin and the pilot utters, "There is currently a plane in our gate having mechanical issues so were looking at an extra 30 minutes or so before we pull in." Welp, I am screwed. After ANXIOUSLY waiting for so long and deplaning, I SPRINTED to the other gate which was 3 TERMINALS AWAY! Imagine you're in a zombie apocalypse and were trying to run away from all of the zombies. You would run pretty fast right? I WAS RUNNING TWICE THAT. I finally reached the gate. I was stunned. I could not believe what I saw. They didn't even start boarding yet. Everyone was minding their own business and then there's me gasping for air with my hoodie flipped sideways. I boarded that flight and was off my to Philly. That's only half of the story.



The next night I was supposed to meet my cousin in NYC. After class, I went to the train station and headed straight to Penn Station. I met up with Sanaa and the rest of the night was our to explore and conquer. Our first stop? NYU. IT IS AMAZING. I had no idea the campus was located in the city and so close to Washington Park! We ended up taking pictures, pictured below, and talked about life. I love talking to Sanaa. We keep it real and fun at the same time, even if that means she squeezes my cheeks to show that I'm still a kid at heart. We went on campus to perform our evening prayer and stumbled upon a meeting/party where she ran into some of her friends. REALLY SMALL WORLD. We hung out with her friends for the rest of the night, going to a restaurant and exploring the numerous streets of NYC. We even grabbed an iconic $1 slice of pizza while walking. I can call myself an experienced NYC traveler now lol. We stayed out until 3 am and I had an exam at 9am. Yeahhhhhh, not the best planning. I went to a friend's apartment near the Barclays Center, slept for 3 hours, then took a train back to Philly the next morning. I know exactly what you're thinking. I did pass my exam.


Why this was my favorite trip: Nothing was planned. There is a comforting feeling knowing there were no deadlines to meet or places to be at with certain people. I could truly enjoy my surroundings, whether that be in a plane in Charlotte or taking a picture in Washington Park 24 hours later. Gosh I love traveling.






 
 
 

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