3 A.M. wake ups, hours-long security lines, waiting to board for what seems like hours, long layovers, so many people around that it’s impossible to even hear you own thoughts; these are every person’s worst nightmare, but to me, they are a perfect day.

     For as long as I can remember I have always loved airports. I love the environment and the way that they feel like their own little corners of the world where nothing else matters. I could spend all day there and never get bored. Seriously. I’m the type of person who likes to get to the airport unreasonably early just so I can spend hours wandering around and people watching.

     There’s really just so much to love about airports. Great food, those moving walkways that throw off your balance, unique features that represent the city you’re in and people. So many people. All of them so different, yet all in the same place for the same reasons. I love the way that nobody knows each other and we can only make guesses about each other’s lives or where we all might be going. All of these people’s lives are a mystery and it’s so interesting to me that I’ll probably never see them again. I always wonder if one of the hundreds of people that surround me will one day be a celebrity or change the world. There’s just no way to know, which makes it so much more exciting.

     No matter how big and unknown airports are though, I feel like they always bring out how small the world really is. Simple small talk about the school name on my sweatshirt has turned into the realization that the person grew up in the same town as my dad or used to live right near where we are going. It amazes me how there always seems to be at least somebody that I can relate to in some way. I mean out of the hundreds of people, what are the odds that I end up next to that exact person at that exact time?

     Another thing I love about airports is the way that time seems to never pass. Everything is just the same 24/7 and the only time that matters is the time of your flight.

     So yes, I’ll admit that crazy long security lines and delayed flights aren’t an airport’s best qualities. But, there is just so much more good to bad when it comes to them. The buzz of excitement and anticipation to reach your destination is contagious and it is one of my favorite feelings. It’s just one of my favorite places to be.