Patience is a Virtue

Day 1 of Cornell voyage (6-23-10)

Early this morning, 6:30 to be exact, marked the beginning of an unforgettable experience. I woke up feeling tired, yet excited. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I eagerly left my home and arrived to El Cerrito High. With all of our students and chaperones on time we began to travel to the San Francisco airport. Once arriving at the airport problems ensued for me. I had my bags checked in, but as I attempted to pay for my luggage, my credit card was denied. I thought, why would my credit card be denied, when I just put money on it the previous day. Well because it was a temporary card, and didn’t have my name on it so the card could not be accessed. Immediately recognizing the problem, Mr. Ramsey jumped in, and happily paid for my baggage fee. I was so very thankful, and all of my stress had been released.

After finally dealing with the great ordeal of the airport security, our group proceeded to get breakfast. Waiting to be seated at the restaurant took a great amount of time. I began to panic, thinking, I hope we don’t miss our plane. But I stayed calm, and we finished breakfast with spare time. I noticed that to have a good time on this trip, I had to relax and just be patient.

After breakfast, I left with a mindset that I will be patient the rest of the day. As I soon learned, saying something, and actually doing it are two different things. When problems are benign, having patience is very easy.  But when problems ensue it becomes a little more difficult. When breakfast was over people were finished eating at different times. So, we traveled in smaller groups or partners to board the plane. Alex (fellow Freedom & Justice student) and I traveled together. We began to walk toward where we thought our gate was. As we looked up we realized we had walked in the complete opposite direction of our destination. I was frustrated that we had done this, but remembering our experience at breakfast helped me cope with any of my frustration. As Alex and I began sprinting to our gate realizing we had only three minutes to spare, wise words popped into my head, “patience is a virtue.” I truly began to focus on these words even repeating them to some of my peers.

We boarded the plane, and arrived in Chicago in a very timely fashion. Chicago was our connector flight to Syracuse, New York. Chicago would present our biggest dilemma. 

When we arrived in Chicago we checked to see our next flight time. We expected to have an hour layover only to find out that our layover would last over four hours. Every time we went to check the time in which our plane would board, the times would change later and later. I was not too happy to find out that I would be arriving at our hotel around 1:00 AM, and only have a few hours to sleep before having to attend college tours and other events. 

While we waited for our plane, our group enjoyed a delicious meal at the Macaroni Grill. We still had a few tiring hours ahead of us, but instead of being frustrated and complaining I kept in mind “patience is a virtue,” and tried to make the best of my situation. This outtake or philosophy of life had a positive effect because I continued to enjoy myself and, our plane’s boarding time was moved up about 40 minutes, from 10:30 PM, to 9:50 PM.

Continuing to be patient and make the best out of every situation I encounter on this journey will serve me well. As I’ve already found out early on in my journey, patience is key for me. Though patience is a virtue, it is obtainable. As I update my blog our supposable boarding time of 9:50 has been changed to a later time in which none of us know when we are departing. But, I will continue to be patient and have fun!