“You’re not like everyone else, and we’re not here to fit a mold.”

I had a moment where I didn't live out my motto...

I did it last week, and I'm definitely not proud of it. I travel a lot. I've chosen a lifestyle where I spend a crazy amount of days traveling to camps, clinics, meetings, or heading across the country to watch my sis play college softball, and who knows what else I decide to hop on a plane to go and do...but on this particular travel day, I met a flight attendant who I let take a little too much of my energy...and I did something I regret.

Because I spend so much time flying, you would probably assume by now, I’d know the “rules” of flying.

• “Make sure your seat belt is fastened, your seat is in the upright position and your tray table is down.”
• “All laptops and large devices need to be packed away and stowed before takeoff.”

And my favorite…

• “Make sure all cellular devices are in “airplane mode” once the cabin door closes." ---ding, ding, ding! ---This particular flight attendant couldn’t wait to RING me up for violating this one.

I was DYING to get a certain post up on Facebook all day, but my phone was acting stubborn, not letting me get this Mother's Day post up, but it FINALLY started working after we had boarded the plane. So, almost in a panic (and wanting to meet a deadline I made for myself), I was PUSHING to get this post up on time before we took off…and that’s where this particular flight attendant found me…

She found me a little stressed, anxious and incredibly exhausted…not my favorite state to be in.

I was SECONDS away from getting this post up, when she caught me looking at my phone right before she was about to go over the safety instructions (which I've heard countless times before). I faintly heard her say something that sounded like she was calling me out for texting. You could tell by her tone, she was saying it to get a chuckle from everyone sitting around me. I immaturely acted shocked that she was talking to me and responded sternly back “I’M NOT TEXTING.” and proceeded to look at my phone. THEN, as she was going through the safety procedures, and I’m STILL working diligently on this post, she decided to wave the face mask strings in my face and said “Oops! Sorry!” *In a sarcastic tone* …I WISH I WAS KIDDING!

Now, while stressed, anxious, and still tired, I was also INFURIATED.

Should I have been on Facebook at that time, probably not...but I learned something during this (what felt like at the time) FIASCO.

We all have similar stories that’s like this one. Maybe it's that one time you got upset at someone who cut you off while driving, or got upset when someone commented something snarky or rude on one of your posts. Maybe it's even when you got annoyed by that kid in class that raised their hand to proudly answer every question just to please the teacher? Why do we sometimes let these things bother us? Because we're human. Because sometimes, when we're tired or stressed the "easiest" way out of this situation is by being snarky back. No, no one likes the feeling of being "attacked" by a situation, but there are good and bad ways to handle situations...and in this case, I chose the bad route.

We can’t control someone else’s emotions or actions, but we can control how we perceive these situations. I’m not proud of the action I took last week on the plane. She could have been going through something much worse than my and my #firstworldproblems of rushing to get a social media post up. I let her negative energy negatively affect my emotions, when what I should have done was treated that situation with grace, poise, and honestly, more maturity. The "easy" road was to react immaturely back, but next time, I plan to take the road less traveled, and walk away with a little more joy instead of anger and sometimes embarrassment.

Like the quote on my website says:

…looking back on it, I'd rather spend my time making those around me feel loved, even if it's sending a certain flight attendant a smile when they least expect it.

Lesson learned: The road less traveled isn't easy, but it's definitely worth it. :)