By Rohan: 

Recently, I was flying from Philadelphia to Miami, sitting next to an elderly woman and a college student who had never been on a plane before. As we made our descent into MIA, the plane began to shake violently. The college student turns to the woman.

“Are we going to be alright?”

The woman looks at him, taking off her headphones, and responds in a warm, grandmother-like voice.

“Honey, I’ve flown thousands of times before, we’ll be just fine”

The two continue passing time as the plane makes its descent. The turbulence worsens, overhead compartments bursting open. The college student looks anxiously and turns to the old woman, who is praying and breathing heavily. Luckily, the plane hit the ground just fine and no one was injured during the violent pocket of air. As I packed my things and headed towards the cabin door, I thought to myself:

God, I love turbulence.

I know it sounds weird. What can be so appealing about a plane shaking, electronics going ballistic, and old ladies praying for someone, somewhere to save them in the event the plane crashes? But turbulence makes the ride so much fun. A mundane flight from Philadelphia to Miami turned into a roller coaster. It allows for a break in the everyday, a hiatus from the boring, humdrum flights we are all used to. After all, why not shake things up a bit?

Without a doubt, the most entertaining part of the process is when the pilot gets back on the intercom, attempting to describe what literally just went down. Sometimes its the confident, scientific response. Other times, it is a jumble of words that are supposed to make sense, even though they clearly don’t. And thankfully, it isn’t a worrisome but honest “Whoops!”