Ducking into the doorway, I saw that only two seats lined each side of the aircraft, and I felt like I could stand in the aisle with my arms outstretched and touch both ends of the plane! My window looked directly out on to the propeller. Fear gripped me.

I plopped into my aisle seat and got adjusted, when I heard a soft voice. “Excuse me, I think I’m the window seat beside you…” “OK, just a sec I…” my sentence trailed off. Before me stood a girl that could have leapt straight from the cover of People magazine’s “40 Most Beautiful People in the Galaxy” edition! “Soooo, can I get to my seat?” I realized she was still waiting in the aisle for me to move. “Um, yeah, sure…” I stammered, dropping my book and getting tangled in my iPod headphones as I struggled to unfasten my seatbelt. Regretting I didn’t listening to the pre-flight instructions on how to unfasten your seatbelt, I finally spilled into the aisle, and she eased her way past me into the window seat.

“So, what do you do?” “Oh, I was Miss America Rodeo Princess last year.” Sweet mother of mercy. “Oh, I’m allergic to horses.” ‘I’m allergic to horses?!’ That’s the best you can come up with?! “Oh, that’s too bad. Do you fly much?” “Yeah, but I’m terrified of flying…” Mike, what are you doing!? Tell her you play the drums! “…but not as much as I’m scared of spiders…” STOP IT! Honesty is NOT the best policy!

As I painfully watched her slip through my fingertips, she gave me an awkward smile, “Don’t worry; I’m sure there is nothing to be afraid of.” I groaned and gripped my seat. This would be a long flight… It’s amazing what goes through our heads just to impress people! It’s as if every time we meet someone, we flip through our life files to find what will make us look best, and that’s what we present. We are terrified that people might accidentally stumble upon the REAL us!