The Terminal - People watching is fascinating

It is now 11.00pm. 

My eyes struggle to stay open even though my mind is still juggling hundreds of ideas while, at the same time, I worry about my visa and what will happen in the next 24 hours.  I will try not to be too particular in regards to my observations, but being in an airport for a longer period of time is, believe it or not, quite philosophical. My time here has mostly been about “people watching”. 

From the moment one arrives at an airport there is a sense of excitement. Whether you’re on your way to a new destination, or to pick up friends or family, the heart starts racing just as you pull into the parking lot. The smell of fuel and exhaust from the airplanes and cars, and the runways overpower the senses with images of exotic escapes and a sense of freedom that can only come from being at an airport. I can feel the rumbling of the jet engines at takeoff and the vibration from the planes passing over the airport while being outside. I watch people as they listen to their iPods, smartphones, type on their computers or play video games. 

Behind me is an older couple talking about the weather in Florida and the possibility of rain. I can faintly recognize the smell of perfume and cologne as people pass by; the smells clash with the aromas generated by KFC, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut. In the main terminal I can hear the sound of luggage wheels on marble mixed with the always formal, ever pleasant, voice from the loudspeaker reminding us to stay with our luggage at all times, or announcing that flight 1234 is now ready for boarding. 

Having traveled extensively in the past I can’t say that I’ve really taken notice or interest in everyone else around me. Nor have I really thought of where everyone’s journey is taking them. This time I’m not visiting the airport for traveling purposes; but to stay for a longer period of time. Watching everyone go by and hearing bits of conversation from those passing me on their way to the departure gate, I can’t help but wonder where everyone is going. Is the family of two adults and three children taking a family vacation? What about the elderly couple I heard talking about their anniversary? Are they celebrating by escaping to someplace exotic? Perhaps, they’ve just ended their trip and are on the way home. While as exciting as some trips to the airport are, it’s very obvious that this is not a place one would consider calm and carefree; in fact, quite the opposite.

As I sat and observed, I immediately took note of the frazzled mother attempting to calm down her children, the complacent business man roving through security control as if he were playing a computer game, and the nail-biting woman who I would imagine hasn't flown in fifteen years. These waiting people and I have only a few things in common that I know: we are all in transit. We will all share a period of time at this airport before we fly to faraway lands. Why are they here? Where are they going? They all have their own stories, lives, intentions, problems, and dreams. I realize that the world is overwhelmingly big; exponentially larger than the limited view of my daily routine. As I have flown over wide expanses of homes, cars and streets, I think of the thousands living below me that did not even realize I existed 30,000 feet above their heads. The world is so much bigger than we think. It is a gentle and humble reminder that I hope others perceive.

Back to my airport adventure. Overnight I managed to rest for almost 7 hours. Surely I woke up from time to time to check that my luggage was still with me, but I slept unexpectedly well on those hard wooden seats. At 7.00am, the highlight of the day, breakfast! Nothing extraordinary, but the $6 Starbucks cappuccino (!!) and a warm ham & cheese croissant made my morning. Quick catch up with friends and family letting them know I was safe & sound before taking a walk around the terminal to stretch my legs.

The Terminal - reproduction.

It’s 9.30 pm, Changi Airport, Singapore.

I’m at the international terminal and the airport is slowly getting emptier and quiet. Outside, the sky is dark and behind the sliding doors, taxis are still dropping off travellers from all corners of the globe. I arrived here at 4.00pm and I still have plenty of hours to go. I actually don’t know how long I have to stay, could be a day, could be 3, 5, 6 or 7.

I am currently sitting at Starbucks to charge my computer, iPad and iPhone for the night before finding a “cozy” and silent spot to curl up and fall asleep. Other passengers are already scattered in the seating areas not too far away, either in semi-sleep or randomly observing their surroundings with the resigned expressions of travellers in transit, travellers who are between worlds, the world of the ‘not yet arrived’.

A group of Emirates pilots and cabin crew walk across the terminal, a gaggle of laughing women, weary by the weight of both traveling, working and by their heavy bags rolling after them, luggage tags bearing the characteristic red and white emblem of the airline. The airhostesses are glamorous, slender and tall in their uniforms, especially with their hat and scarf that covers half of their faces resembling niqabs. And here I am, as non-glamorous as one can be, sitting in my track pants, shoes off, baggy jumper, scarf, messy hair, no make up and glasses…  I feel GREAT.

I sit back and look around. This waiting in terminals is a world I know well. I have never counted up the hours I have spent like this, just waiting, but they are many. Too many to count or even remember.

It’s amazing how much waiting there is in a life of movement. Surrounded by luggage, tired from crossing continents and time zones, you just sit. You wait. You wait in transit, in the between, not always sure of the next piece of the journey.

Waiting for buses.

Waiting for train stations.

Waiting in airports.

Besides this, there’s the other waiting. Waiting for visas, that legal stamp of permission to enter a country as a guest and live there for a year. Waiting for decisions that are being made apart from you. Waiting to see what your near future will look like depending on this stamp.

And so I wait. 10.00 pm in the Changi Airport, thinking of the life, MY  life, MY future, (still) trying to figure out what to do with my life… Am I going anywhere with this thinking? Not really…. But I can summarise it as this:

We all seek happiness, simple as that. We as a human race desperately strive to be something, to prosper, to be revered and if nothing else to be noticed. But to what point? Happiness isn’t about fame, fortune, money or the amount of things we possess, because those things will eventually run out. We should live our lives to the fullest since life is short, yet ever so precious.

My life philosophy is centered around three things; three things that greatly govern my life, and the way I go about living it:

1.     Be who you are, not who everyone else wants you to be,

2.     Work hard to achieve your goals,

3.     Never take your friends for granted, true friends will be with you for life.

There’s a quote that says, “It is better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you are not.”

In today’s society I see more and more people desperately trying to conform the standards of others. We are simply too afraid to distinguish ourselves from the crowd; to be anything but normal. Through one of the most challenging times in my life, I came to the realization that by being myself everything else became so much easier. Learning how to love ourselves is an important aspect in life, but is also one of the hardest and most challenging tasks. Learn to love yourself for the person on the inside, not the person on the outside. Start loving your inside, then your outside.