This past weekend, I went on my first solo trip ever. I turned 19 on April 14, so I decided as a treat to myself I’d visit my friend in Princeton, New Jersey. In the excitement of the moment, I decided I was also going to see the Jersey Shore and New York in the same weekend. Since I’m basically a professional now, here are some things you should absolutely know before your first solo trip.
1. The airport.
When I got to Pittsburgh International Airport, I realized how terribly unprepared I was for the weekend. I had everything I needed packed, for sure, but I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I walked into the airport from the bus station completely lost; I saw how large everything was and I felt so small. The Newark Liberty International Airport was arguably 30x worse. It was so large that the train from one side of the airport to the other took 15 minutes. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to navigate anything, where to sit for three hours, how big my bag was allowed to be or how to board a plane.
When you go to the airport, make sure you know what you’re doing beforehand. Do your research; know how to follow the signs, how to get a boarding pass and how early you should arrive. Be confident when you’re in the airport, because people will be able to tell you’ve never flown before, and for some odd reason you get treated much worse when they know you don’t know what you’re doing. You know this trip like the back of your hand: Act like it!
2. Transportation Security Administration.
TSA is truly an entire issue on its own. I think going through TSA for the first time may have truly been the most stressful ten minutes of my life. Here are the essentials you need to know when you go through TSA:
- Have your passport and boarding pass out the entire time, and have it ready multiple people before your turn with the Customs and Border Protection officers. They will absolutely not tolerate someone holding up a 30 minute line so that you can dig through your backpack trying to find your passport.
- Follow the people in front of you: if they’re taking their shoes off, take yours off. If they’re removing their electronics, remove yours. The most confusing part about TSA is that each airport is different and each group of agents has their own way of checking security. So, in this instance, be a follower.
- Dump out all of your liquids or transfer them to 3.2 ounce bottles. You will lose your spot in line if you have to dump out a water bottle.
- If they say they need to pat you down, do not panic! My necklace set off the X-ray scanner and I looked so much more suspicious when I asked the agent if I’d done something wrong. Don’t do that. Usually, it’s something small; just let them do your job and you’ll be okay!
- Do so much planning.
I planned this trip a month in advance, and I still feel like I didn’t plan enough. I’m a spontaneous person, so I wasn’t entirely stressed by not following my plans but when I was traveling from Newark to the beach to Princeton to New York, I had no clue what I was doing because I hadn’t planned far enough in advance. If you get anxious about not following a schedule, have an itinerary planned months before.
3. Have fun!
The most important part of all of this is to enjoy your trip. Do not let yourself be stressed out over the actual trip, because this is for you to enjoy life. Be happy, excited and live in the moment. Let the wind hit your face. Let the smell of the beach overwhelm you. Watch the leaves fall from the trees in the stretch of woods you’d been looking forward to hiking for years. In the end, no matter what happens, everything is going to be okay. When you’re in the moment, the trip will feel so refreshing. Everything will be so worth it. Let it be.
Doing this trip on my own and figuring most of it out on my own was such a rewarding experience. Everything was beautiful. The clouds were more real than they’ve ever been; the earth was, for the first time, so small. I felt as if I could do anything. I touched the ocean for the first time since I was eight and I remembered how privileged I am to live. I missed multiple trains, got to Asbury Park and froze, but it was so incredibly worth it because it meant I got to be there in the first place. I’ve never been more grateful to exist in this world than when I was experiencing it in the capacity I was in.
So, yes, the airport was terrifying, TSA freaked me out, my transportation plans had to be completely shifted, but I was at the beach! I met so many people. I loved every second of it. I’m grateful for my time in the airport, for TSA, for my drink being thrown away, because I was there.
Book that flight, and love every second of it. This is what it’s all for, after all.
