“Everyone stay calm. Put your head down!” said the flight attendant.

This was supposed to be a good day. I was supposed to be home with my family. I missed them. More screaming, yelling, babies crying, hugs, and kisses everywhere. Everything was speeding up. Then the plane…

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” went my alarm clock. I had to be up in time for my plane at 8:30. I got no sleep last night. I was so excited to go home to my family! Being a college student, I really missed my family and Christmas break was perfect time to see them. I put on my deep purple sweatshirt with the words New York University on it and my white converse. I headed downstairs with my suitcase and into my outdated kitchen. I grabbed an apple and a bag of Doritos off of the turquoise counter top. Whenever guest came over, they just looked at the kitchen in disgust. I didn't blame them.

The morning was gloomy with the sun behind the gray clouds. Everything seemed gloomy. I wondered why?

I ran up to the first cab I saw. Their bright yellow color seemed to warm the day up. Then the noise seemed to grow throughout Manhattan: cars rushing everywhere, planes flying in and out, and pedestrians talking.

“Thus began our journey…” said a billboard sign with a quote by Harper Lee. She was right, but would this journey start or had it already? I puzzled over the thought.

“Hey! You gonna get in or what? I got people waiting!” yelled the taxi driver.

“Sorry, sir, I'm still waking up,” I said, which was a lie.

“Where you headed to?” he asked.

“John F. Kennedy International Airport,” I responded with a smile.

I grew up going to Manhattan a lot so I knew the place inside and out. My grandmother would always meet us at the gate to welcome us with a basket of cookies. Those were the good old days. Minutes seemed to go by fast as I was eating my Doritos and as soon as I knew it, we were there.

“Ok, that’ll be $73.98 plus tip,” he demanded.

I'm glad I was happy today or this would have gone another direction.

“$73.98 with a tip of $10,” I said in a polite manner and rushed inside.

People were rushing in and out and suitcases were rolling like crazy. I hurried to the security section. The line died down after fifteen minutes. I rushed in and rushed out. I headed over to an empty gift shop to grab a bag of peanut butter M&Ms, which I craved.

After paying, I ran into the line to board the plane. I got the first class section. I felt like a real grown up sitting in a comfy chair and having snacks brought right to me. This was starting to feel like vacation.

The plane took off just a few moments later. A nice three hour flight. I put my headphones on and fell into a deep hole of sleep. All I could hear was the swooshing of the air.

          I woke to the sound of an explosion, not something you want to wake up to.

          “The engine blew!” screamed a man in panic.

          My breathing grew and grew. It was like my ears were plugged, and I heard the breathing from inside my head. It was all happening so fast like being shot. The bullet goes through so fast that you can't even think.

“Everyone stay calm. Put your head down!” said the flight attendant. This was supposed to be a good day. I was supposed to be home with my family. I missed them. More screaming, yelling, babies crying, hugs, and kisses everywhere. Everything was speeding up. Then the plane…

It went black...everything. All though I was unconscious I could feel my body hitting the bottom of the plane as we dove straight into the ground.

I awoke to the yellow bright sun that struck me straight into the eye. Voices followed with a faintness.

         “Ma'am, you are in critical condition. We are going to take you straight to the hospital,” said a paramedic.

        Too much was happening! I couldn't think. My body was numb and cold. I had a neck brace and a heated blanket on me.

        News men and women rushed to me.

        “What happened?!?!” Someone said.

        “Are you the only one that survived? Are there others?” a newsman screamed.

        “A plane crashed just outside of a McDonald's in rural Indianapolis. The plane struck the ground in a downward position. With only one survivor found, rescuers are still searching,” a voice said behind me.

        I was lifted up into the ambulance. All I could see were the red doors closing and the faces of people staring back at me. This was supposed to be a good day.

        The hospital doors opened, and people started rushing to me. Nurses crowded around me.

         “Her neck is broken!”

         “Her lung collapsed!”

         “She has a bloody nose!”

         “Her PET scans show her temporal lobe is bleeding! We'll have to go in and clean that up!” nurses screamed.

         “Candice Montgomery, I am Doctor Raymond O’Neil. We're going to put you to sleep, so we can look at what conditions you're in and stop the bleeding in your brain.” he said. I nodded to reply.

         “OK see you in a little bit.” he said while applying a breathing mask on me.

         Then everything went black again. It felt like being in a black puddle of water. I couldn’t see or hear anything, but a small light at the far side of the blank space. It was sort of like a blank television.

         My eyelids slowly opened to the bright light in my room. The hospital was boring with no colors. It was like a blank sheet of paper waiting to be drawn on.

        A nurse arrived to tell that the procedure went well.

       “We fixed the collapsed lung, the broken neck, and stopped the bleeding in your nose. There was a complication to the brain. We couldn't stop the bleeding, so we'll go in for a closer look tomorrow,” she said with sorrow.

       “So my head is still bleeding? I have to wait. Will I still be alive tomorrow?” I said with quiet tone.

       “You'll be fine, just loopy. Your parents are on their way. I wish crazy things like this didn't happen in the world,” she sighed.

       “ Mm..my parents….they’re coming?” I said to her not realizing she had left the room.

       My parents would be mad at me. They've always been strict parents and not understanding. I didn't want to see them, but at the same time I needed love to strengthen me. Slowly a drifted to sleep again.

“Candice! Candice!” someone said as I woke up.

It was my parents. Their worried looks told me they weren’t mad but concerned. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My mother and father understanding my pain for once. It was if an angel was among us.

“Mom….dad! Hi!” I said slowly waiting for a response.

“Honey, you’re OK. I mean how are you feeling?” she said trying not to let her tears block her from her point.

“I’m fine. I’m talking which is a good sign. Kind of loopy. Did they do the procedure yet?” I said in a whispered tone.

“What procedure? I thought you said she was fine.” My mom questioned the nurse.

“She is...but her temporal lobe is bleeding. Ma’am, she is getting it fixed in a few minutes. The doctors will be right in,” she said trying to calm my parents’ nerves.

“Oh! No!” they said weeping.

Then it went silent. I guess I passed out from the loss of blood. I saw little bits and pieces like my parents holding on to hospital bed while rolling down a hallway to what seemed like an operation room.

I dove off to a deep sleep. Everything was blank again. The light was back dimly in the distant. I somewhat ran over to it, and noticed the light was yellow. Yellow like the sun.

“Beep…beep...beep…beeee...” said the heartbeat monitor.

It was happening again. This time forever. I realized that my journey was amazing. Although it was tragic, I was just glad to be known as a survivor of a plane crash, technically. I was the greatest thing to be known for. I loved my parents for everything even though they were strict. They had always been there for me.

The last words I said was, “It was supposed to be a good day...I love you.”