In 2012, my grandparents and I flew to Nashville, Tennessee, to see one of my cousins, Austin, graduate high school. I love my family, and the opportunity to share this important experience in my cousin’s life meant a lot to me.

The trip home from Nashville was a life-changing one. The flight from Nashville to Philadelphia was very smooth. A trip from Philadelphia to New York should have taken an hour at most. This is a trip that I often make because the airport in my hometown doesn’t have flights to many places.

The unnamed airline decided to fly from Philly to Elmira, NY, despite a storm. It was terrifying. We boarded the plane, and the flight was turbulent, but that’s normal when flying in stormy summer weather.

My grandmother and I were sitting in the bulkhead. We could see the flight attendants scurrying around to get to their seats and the copilots talking to each other in an animated fashion. The nose of the plane started to dip down, and one thing I remember was the woman behind us praying to God that she wouldn’t die. My grandmother, who’s flown every few weeks for 20 years for work, holding my hand tightly in hers.

In that moment, I decided that if I got off the plane, I was going to live my life differently. And I did. I started putting myself first; I have empathic tendencies, I tend to let people walk all over me.

I’m grateful for this traumatic experience, in a strange way. Due to the dramatic flight, however, I’m now terrified of flying on airplanes.

This past Tuesday, I had to fly by myself. The plane was packed, there were no free seats. I warned the woman next to me that I get very talkative when I’m nervous. As the plane took off, she grabbed my hand and said, “Put yourself in God’s hands and think happy thoughts.”

Throughout the two-hour flight, I learned all about the lives of the people sitting next to me. The woman in the center seat was 88 years old and flying from New York to Florida to see her daughter for the holidays. This woman was a single mother in a time when single mothers were struggling to be socially accepted. She was also a dancer and she still dances with a trio whenever the chance arises. Sadly, there were four members, but one has passed away. The woman sitting closest to the window was 31 years old, with an emotional support animal. We bonded over our love dogs–I have two of my very own. The Maltipoo was amazingly friendly, she enjoyed being petted, and I loved to hold her. Amy, the owner of said puppy, was traveling to see her family as well. She was a native of Puerto Rico, but now she bakes cakes in Rochester, New York. She has an emotional support animal help her with anxiety. We talked about how getting an emotional support animal could be possible for me, due to my stress. Amy and her puppy ended up going to Sea World. I hope they had a wonderful time.

Sometimes you make friends and meet people in the strangest of places, learning a little bit about yourself along the way. As always, I’m thankful for clear skies and safe airplane rides, but I’m also grateful for the people that made the experience tolerable and taught me something about life.