It’s that time of year again when airports start to fill to the brim and you’re rushing to your gate after a last-minute change. It’s the time again for roaming emptying airport corridors and wasting away in tightly packed lounges. It’s been three hours and a lifetime of watching planes take off and land. Three lifetimes of strangers cycling in and out. And you’re still here.
You’d do just about anything to preoccupy yourself and ease those nerves that have begun to pent up as your flight draws closer. Just about anything will catch your eye at this point — and it does.
It’s that (potentially) handsome stranger (you can’t actually see his face through his hoodie) sitting across the gate in black sweats and a questionable hairstyle that screams he hasn’t gotten any sleep in the last five hours. Or, maybe you’re caught in a whirlwind as another beautiful stranger struts by, her life seemingly worked out to the minute detail — matching luggage and pristine coat in hand. And you feel like you haven’t showered in ages. You’ve been around so many people but haven’t spoken to a single one, that you start to wonder if you can still articulate in English (or any language for that matter).
Delusion starts to kick in. Suddenly, you’re falling in love with every stranger within a two mile radius. Your destination starts to become some faraway dream. It’s all becoming too much. Everything’s a blur. You can’t crush on every human you see your age (oh, but you can — it’s science, after all). You glance again at the person sitting across from you and you wonder where they’re headed (same place, maybe? — no, stop).
Craving Connection
The holiday rush is not for the faint of heart. Tensions are high. Anxiety reaches astronomical proportions. Between the chaos and desperation of it all, the urge to connect with others arises. The need for connection isn’t crazy — it’s human nature, but the heightened stress of travel means that you may have more anxiety than you know what to do with.
Psychologists call this phenomenon of the airport crush a result of the “misattribution of arousal,” in which individuals attribute their anxiety to a sort of attraction. With so much time to kill, the possibilities start to amount. What if you miss your flight? What if the plane crashes? Or what if you meet the love of your life?
Blame It on the Rom-Coms
The journey itself is often more riveting than the prospect of reaching your destination. You’re not just romanticizing Cancun or Paris, you’re romanticizing getting there.
With so much content online built around the idea of selling you your next dream destination (or maybe you’re just really excited to get home), it’s so easy to plan everything to the last detail. Rom-coms and media sell us this fantasy, too.
Yet, airports are places of transformation — of saying goodbye and of meeting. They’re a place to see and be seen. It’s this level of mystery and possibility that makes travel so thrilling. It’s fun to take away some of the stress of travel by planning your airport outfits or by fantasizing about matching your luggage to your clothes.
For those catching flights — and hopefully not feelings — the airport or train terminal becomes a place of danger. Possibility and adventure lurk at every turn. Who knows where you might find your next romantic interest?
Do you find yourself catching flights (feelings)? How do you romanticize your travels? Let us know by tagging us @VALLEYmag on Instagram!
