What I Learned from My First Flight

The First Time is Always Special, isn’t it ?

I took my first flight on August 22, 2024, from Chennai, India, to Varanasi, India.

It was a spiritual family trip. Since I didn’t have many leave days, my dad suggested taking a flight instead of a train to save time.

My flight was scheduled for 5:55 PM IST from Chennai International Airport. I reached the airport around 2:00 PM to avoid any last-minute hassles.

A few of my friends had warned me that everything inside the airport would be expensive. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my water bottle, and after a long journey to the airport, I was feeling thirsty.

So, I decided to buy a bottle of water just outside the airport. When I asked for the price, the girl at the shop told me it was 200 rupees (2.3 dollars). I thought I had misheard her, so I asked again — but she repeated the same amount. I had no choice but to buy it. That’s when I realized that not just inside the airport, but even around it, everything was costly.

My check-in process was smooth. I was extremely excited and full of energy. Since I didn’t have much luggage, I decided to explore the airport before my flight. There were a lot of stores selling perfumes, bags, clothes, and more. I wondered if people bought these things at such high prices.

Then, something caught my attention — a bookstore. I love books, and since this was my first flight, I wanted to make the experience even more memorable. So, I bought The Right Thing, Right Now by Ryan Holiday.

I had a window seat, but since it was already evening when the flight took off, I couldn’t see much outside. Instead, I started reading my new book. By the time I finished around 70 pages, the flight attendants announced that we were about to land. The journey took just two and a half hours.

Chennai and Varanasi are about 1,800 kilometers (roughly 1,100 miles) apart. It amazed me that such a long distance could be covered in such a short time.

What I Learned

That day, I learned that money is important, but time is even more precious. Money can help us save time, and time is something we can never get back. I won’t say that money is everything, but this experience made me realize its value in a new way.

My perspective on money changed after this flight.

How was your first flight experience? What did you learn from it?