Hi, it’s 2025 Ava! Stop interrupting!! I know, I know… I found this one fully drafted two years later, and while reading this back I think I sound absolutely dramatic, it was real to me then. It was my first trip without my family and I had just left all of my friends (some for the summer some forever, thanks WBB). I was nervous about missing my brother’s graduation and well you will read about the rest. I just wanted to say I absolutely loved Mexico City and would go back in a heart beat, you can read about the good parts in Mexico City, I dared. Okay, enjoy me being melodramatic!

“Hello ma’am, my flight was supposed to board 20 minutes ago, but the website still hasn’t updated as to what my gate is… would you happen to know it?”

“Oh no, sorry, all of the flights are delayed there was a volcano eruption, so the ash is making it dangerous to take off.”

Out of all the explanations I had imagined as to why my boarding pass hadn’t updated, that was not one of them.

Going to Mexico City for a University trip was absolutely amazing. I had such a fun time touring breathtaking landmarks, hearing wonderful stories, and meeting exceptional new people. However, even though the trip itself was fantastic, I spent almost the entire day at the airport in tears.

You see, I was doomed from the start, because I had to say good bye to all of my classmates that morning, as I wasn’t going back to Los Angeles with them. I was headed home all by myself, but this wasn’t my first solo flight, so I wasn’t nervous. I figured my boarding pass would update once I got to the airport, I knew I had a lot of time as I arrived three hours early.

Yet, time kept ticking by and my pass hadn’t updated. And neither had the screens in the CDMX airport, which were supposed to report the flights status, I just saw a long list of “delayed” and “cancelled.” This is when the fear started to kick in, but I knew I had to be patient, so I followed the crowd and sat and waited with everyone else.

The time never slowed though. It kept moving steadily ahead, and I was hopeful, the TV’s display started to catch up with the real time, and the “cancelled” were getting less and less frequent. But it was getting close to boarding time, after I had watched two episodes of TV and taken a Starbucks run. I refreshed my boarding pass, and looked up at the screen but there was nothing. So I decided to ask for help, and wait in a very treacherous line to do so. And I was not ready for the response they gave me…

Volcanic Ash.

How can I combat volcanic ash? How long does it last? Will I need a hotel? What if I’m the only one here, and my school leaves me since their flight is so much later in the day? Do I need a mask if I go outside? Will I make it home in time for my brothers graduation?

These were all thoughts that ran through my head as I walked back to my waiting spot with no real answer as to when or if my plane was leaving at all. I stayed waiting for another hour, and the status of the flight on the boarding pass finally changed to delayed. I had gotten comfortable though, so I opened my book.

By the time I closed it, even more time had passed, but I decided to humor myself and check if I had a gate yet, since I had noticed the waiting area was emptying out. The TV had planes scheduled to depart after mine, but the my flight information was not displayed.

I looked onto my phone and googled the flight, and it said it had begun boarding twenty minutes ago. I thought, that couldn’t possibly be true considering I didn’t even had a gate. So I did what any confused girl would do, and I marched my way to the back of the help line… again.

This time where I got to the booth and asked the agent about my flight he seemed alarmed. He checked his computer and told me the gate number along with “you need to hurry they already started boarding a while ago, and are set to take off in,” he checked his watch, “five minutes.”

My heart dropped, I didn’t even know where this gate was. My stupid carry-on had broken and so I couldn’t roll it and I regretted being such an over packer. But, I didn’t have a choice, so I started to run through the airport. I must have looked like a maniac as I ran through dialing my moms number while navigating through the stores to find my gate. I was terrified I wouldn’t make it in time. What if I didn’t make it? Where would I sleep tonight? Will any hotels have space for me? Will I have to tell my parents I missed the flight? What will they say? When is the next flight that leaves to Orlando? When will I get home? How long will I be here all alone? Where is my gate?

My gate. I saw the numbers in the distance and I saw a hoard of people standing up, that means there’s time. But it was too late. By the time I finally thought to try and regulate my breathing, I had already started crying. It was very similar to the eruption actually, because once I started I could not stop and I had no idea how long it would last.

I had sat down, and realized the people were standing for the gate next to mine. The gate attendant I panicky asked in tears told me my flight was not supposed to start boarding for another thirty minutes. Yet in the middle of the CDMX airport, directly facing an elderly couple eating crackers, I could not stop crying. And I tried. I put on happy music, I told my mom I had reached the gate and saw the plane. I knew I was fine, and I would make it home, but I couldn’t stop. So I cried, and cried, and cried.

I imagined what I must have looked like to someone walking by… what stories they were telling themselves about me, the girl crying alone at the airport.

I wonder how many of those stories would’ve made more sense than mine, probably a lot of them. But this story, my story, taught me that patience and faith are far more important than fear and worry. Hopefully, on my next adventure I can keep that in mind, and ward off any volcanic ashes.

2025 me back again! I hope I didn’t sound too pathetic in that. I wanted to stay true to how I felt and didn’t edit anything except a little grammar. Nowadays, I get lost more frequently actually (stranded in Japan, without wifi in Budapest, etc.), but I handle it better. I like to share travel fails or difficulties because honestly, they make the best stories and give you the biggest opportunities to grow. So this wasn’t my first travel difficulty and definitely wasn’t my last, but the point is to not let the difficulties stop you and to still have the courage to go out and live! Talk to you guys from 2025 next time (ideally).