Life After Pacific
The trek home was long, tiresome, and emotionally draining. On the bus ride to the Fiji airport, music was blasting, and we were all loudly singing together. I couldn’t imagine not being with these people every day from here on out. These people in a sense had become my family over the course of the program, and we all have grown and experienced so much together. It wasn’t until we reached the airport that the reality of our final departures was settling in. We had to say our first goodbyes to people traveling to different countries. A few tears were definitely shed, but I was composed for the most part. I started thinking about what saying goodbye to my best friends I had made would be like. I knew that things would not be the same once we got home, and I did my best to ignore this haunting thought.
It wasn’t until we got to New Zealand that things took a turn for the worse. After a long flight and two-hour delay from Fiji, we were all ready to book it home. However, that was not the case at all. We were granted yet another delay. This was due to a maintenance check with the engine on our plane, and the delay seemed to creep further and further. People were in a panic because they might miss the flights they had booked from LA to Atlanta. Unfortunately, I was one of these people. With the delay, I would have thirty minutes to go through customs, check my luggage, go through security, and finally board the plane. I wanted to go home more than anything at this moment, and I called my Dad to see if I should potentially book a different flight. To my surprise, he answered the phone despite it being 3am there, and he told me that if I missed my flight I would spend a night in LA. This was the last thing I had wanted to hear. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I told him I’d keep him updated.
At last, we were finally on the plane to LA, and I was an emotional wreck. I watched “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and it made me cry. I even watched a Disney movie, “Moana”, and that made me cry. My emotions were heightened because I just wanted to see my family. I had never missed them so much as I did on that plane ride. I guess I had truly missed them all along, but I did not notice it because I was constantly with friends and having fun. But once I realized how much I had missed them, boy did it hit me like a train. I couldn’t help but feel pathetic at how emotional I was getting. Prior to this, I was never really sad during the program. I guess I had to save all of my emotions for the end of the trip!
Once we got to LA, Jillian and I were practically running through the airport in order to make our flight. It looked like we were actually going to make our flight. Luckily, our friend group was all together until we picked up our luggage. Our final goodbye was nothing like I had expected it to be. I imagined us all crying and hugging until we finally went our separate ways. In reality, it was probably one of the quickest goodbyes. There was hardly any sadness, and I think it is because we were all so focused on getting home. Jillian and I finally made it on our flight, and I had finally calmed down. The excitement of seeing my family took over the previous stress. Once the plane landed, I ran to get my luggage and look for my family. I finally saw my mom and dad, and I ended up crying tears of happiness. I am shocked I even had any more tears left to cry.
Since being home, things quickly retreated back to normal. In a way, it sometimes felt like I had never even left. This was the same for my friends, and it was as if instead of being gone a semester I was only gone for a weekend. I loved and appreciated this normalcy. Even better, I have hung out with Jillian, Kaitlyn, and Genesis. Our friendship has continued back to Georgia Tech, and I am so grateful it did. The epic goodbye I had imagined having with them wasn’t necessary at all. In the end, we didn’t need a formal goodbye because there was no doubt we could ever leave each other’s lives.
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