Personal Narrative: My Trip To Miami, Florida

I remember the first time I left Memphis. It was also the first time I rode on an airplane. I was thirteen years old, around the time of Christmas. My parents thought it would be a good Christmas present if we all went on vacation for a change.

The whole idea was such a surprise to me. My parents woke me up on an early Wednesday morning, seven days before Christmas, to tell me we were flying to Miami, Florida. I thought it was joke, for I laughed at their plain faces. When I saw they weren’t laughing with me, I knew they were serious. I was extremely excited! They told me we were to leave that Tuesday, giving me six days to pack.

The night before Tuesday, I could barely sleep. The anticipation was raging in my veins. It would be it first time to ever leave Memphis and ride on a real airplane. Tuesday morning came and it was time to leave; our flight was at eight o’clock in the morning. The airport was huge and crowded. People were going in every direction,

We had to take off our shoes, jackets, belts, and hats. I asked the security officer the purpose of the uncomfortable unclothing and she told me the 9/11 terrorist attack called for stricter security protocol. The tough procedures didn’t just apply to clothing; it applied to carry on items too. The maximum amount of ounces for bottled liquids was 3.4. We exceeded that amount by an ounce which caused some of our belongings to be confiscated. Once we were cleared, we proceeded to our flight terminal. By that time it was a quarter to eight. We sat in our terminal until our airplane arrived. We were on the plane by eight fifteen.

The plane had about 20 rows of chairs, separated by three’s. My parents and I took a row in the middle. Since it was my first time on a plane, they let me have the window seat. By eight forty-five, the plane was ready for take-off. The pilot welcomed us to the flight and asked us to please turn off any electronic devices for