We grow up watching movies that have happy endings of reunions of loved ones in airports. We watch videos on YouTube of military families being reunited in airports. We hear stories of college students embarking on a new journey with the airport as the gateway to their next chapter. We go to the airport and observe hundreds of people giving emotional goodbyes. However, for out-of-state students, we are those people. At the beginning or end of a break the first “hello” and the last “goodbye” are said in an airport. Airports have a new, emotional meaning.

After taking a huge exam, there is nothing more satisfying than jumping on the next flight home. As you sit on the tarmac you can imagine seeing your family and this instant sense of relaxation consumes you. As soon as the plane lands, you cannot wait to run off and give your family a big hug. For me, I never had this feeling in an airport before. Maybe it’s because I do not usually travel alone or it is because I am not used to being away for so long. Either way, the airport is no longer a place that I simply use to commute to and from school. It is the place where I can run into my family’s arms as I exit the baggage claim.

However, the airport is also the place for goodbyes. There’s something to be said for the emotions that occur when you are waving back to your family through the glass doors of the airport. There’s something to be said for checking your bags and going through security by yourself. It’s as if the moment your family dropped you at the airport, you became an adult again. The last hug and the last wave goodbye are tough. Before we know it, we are those people being watched by others due to our emotional exit at the airport.

When applying to college, my requirement was that my school was a plane ride away. I had always looked around at the other students, traveling home to their families, and wanted to be just like them. However, in the blink of an eye, I am now that student. I can see other people watching me embrace my family and enjoying our reunion. I can see other people watching as I give my family a final goodbye. I am now a part of what makes the airport such a special place. It is crazy to think that one place can bring so many people together and separate them at the same time.

Next time you go to the airport, look around. Notice the “hellos” and the “goodbyes.” Notice the joys and the sadness. Notice the hugs and the dreadful waves. And, when you go to say goodbye or hello to your family, take a look around at who is watching. Watch their face as they watch you. If you just take one step back and observe, you will realize that you are a part of something much bigger than yourself.

And this is life.