Moving On | Teen Ink

Moving On

May 2, 2018
By c.latz BRONZE, Central Ave, New Jersey
c.latz BRONZE, Central Ave, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

I was sitting on an airport terminal bench next to my mom, an experience that was entirely new to me because this would be my first time ever riding on an airplane. It was 2007 I was 5 years old and I was about to go on my first trip to Disney World. Needless to say, I was taken back by all of the people rushing around in the airport terminal. I had never been to Disney World before so I was as excited as a seven year old could be. I was under the impression of the Disney magic. There was no way I could contain myself to just one bench. I had to get up and walk around.

     

I asked if I could use the bathroom and got up to explore the airport. I didn’t actually go off by myself, I was accompanied by my dad and my younger brother. My dad made sure we didn’t get lost in the large crowds of the airport. Once we finished we hurried back to the terminal to catch our flight. We were moving so quickly that the zipper on my backpack fell open. I wrapped my arms around the travel bag and ran through the airport clutching the bag. When we finally reached the line at the terminal gate I dropped to my knees to check my backpack real quickly,  “Where is it, where is it?” I thought to myself. I finally found it buried under my other belongings in my travel bag, my beloved blanket. It was just an ordinary blue blanket with a star on it and looking back now I realize that there are probably a million other children’s blankets just like it. But to me, at seven years old that blanket meant the world to me.


As we were sitting down ready for the flight to take off I picked a seat in between my brother and the window. I was imagining what would happen as the plane turned onto the runway. As the plane sped up to take off I had my face glued to the plane window the whole time. My eyes lit up with wonderment as the plane climbed higher and higher into the air. I felt a feeling of panic as the buildings below got smaller and smaller. It was something I had never experienced before so I felt a small bit of anxiety thinking about what could go wrong. I closed the window and looked back at my brother and we both looked at the in-flight TV all of my fears started to wipe away. 


As the plane touched down the rush of adrenaline suddenly hit me. I realized that I was only a car ride away from Disney World. I was ready to spring out of the confined space and discover what was on the other side of the cockpit door. I grabbed my bag quickly and ran outside. I distinctly remember the Florida heat that I felt when I stepped off the plane for the first time.
   

When we finally arrived at the hotel all of my energy had drained away. I lied on the bed and turned on the TV all I could do at that moment was imagine all of the fun that me and family would have the next day. Everything seemed to line up perfectly for the next day. I continued to watch the disney theme park channel on the hotel TV to gain knowledge of every ride I was gonna hit first. After about an hour of watching the TV I got ready to go to sleep, but before I could I needed to grab my blanket.  I went over to my travel bag and noticed that the zipper was open. I felt the same rsh of anxiety that I felt back in the airport. I dug through the bag and finally dumped everything out on the floor after seeing that there was no blanket I finally realized what happened. Tears began to roll down my face and my whole family came to see what was going on. I explained why I was hysterically crying and my mom felt a sense of empathy. I didn’t know what to do I had never slept without my blanket and I couldn't imagine doing it know. My mom explained that she lost her childhood teddy bear around the same age just like me.
   

I started to calm down I laid down in my bed and my mom told me that nothing would happen to me if my whole family was together. I felt a sense of relief, after all, it was just one night and I could recover in the morning. I focused on falling asleep without my blanket. I kept coming back to the thought of my family protecting me if anything happened. Slowly I fell back into my pillow and fell asleep.
   

After that night things got easier and easier. I slept without my blanket the whole trip and it was finally time to go home. I was sad to leave Disney World because it was everything I expected and more but I was even more sad about losing my beloved childhood blanket. But as I walked out of the door from the hotel I felt a sense of safety. Knowing that I didn’t need a blanket anymore to protect me because no matter what happens my family would always be able to protect me and that is something I would never forget.



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