Who Should We Blame?

On Sunday, I spent over 17 hours traveling. Most people would assume I was flying across the world. However, I was only flying across 8 states. I arrived at the Minneapolis airport at 5:30 AM, and did not arrive at the Durham airport until 10:45 PM. This is definitely not how I planned to spend my Sunday, especially as finals are quickly approaching. However, as my frustration and exhaustion begin to simmer down, I am left with an uncertainty of whom to blame.

        I arrived at gate B14 well before my flight was scheduled to board, but soon received an email saying my flight was delayed an hour. Thirty minutes later, the flight was delayed another hour, and thirty minutes,; after that, it was delayed a third hour. As discouraging as these delays were, they seemed inevitable. There was extremely thick fog, making it difficult to see further than 20 yards. For this reason, planes were not able to land at the airport, and the scheduled flights were not able to occur without the planes. The airline had no control over the weather, so I could not blame it for the delays.

        As I observed the fog disappearing, I got my hopes up that my plane would be able to arrive soon. To my dismay, I received a notification that my flight was cancelled. I panicked – How could they do this? How will I get back to campus? To make matters worse, a plane had just landed at the gate next to me – Why couldn’t my plane land? The notification offered no explanation for the cancellation, but said that the airline was working to rebook my flight.

        A few minutes later, I received the disheartening news that I was now scheduled to fly from Minneapolis to Louisville to Detroit and finally to Durham, arriving at 10:45 PM. I couldn’t understand how my direct flight had turned into a two-stop flight, landing nine hours later than originally planned. I had not blamed the airline for the delays due to weather, but I found myself blaming them for the cancellation and the rebooking to a much more complicated itinerary. The employees kept apologizing for the “inconvenience” and thanking us for our “patience,” but their words did not change the fact that I had to spend my entire day stranded at the airport. I would never be able to get those hours back.

        Many people would argue that I let those hours be wasted by dwelling on my situation. They would say I could have used those hours by being productive and enjoying the moment. However, it is very difficult to embrace the moment when your plans are destroyed and you are stressed about whether you will make it to your destination. Regardless, I do recognize that being stranded at the airport for the day is not the worst thing that can happen to you. The important thing is that I did finally make it to my destination and that I did so safely.

        I wonder if the reason I struggle with deciding whom to blame is because there is no one to blame. Yes, the airline probably could have handled the situation better, but I could have too. Worry, stress, and frustration are never beneficial. They lack the power to make a situation better, so I should have restrained them from consuming me. The only thing in life that we have control over is our self, so maybe our self is who we should consider first when we are searching for someone to blame.

On Sunday, I spent over 17 hours traveling. Most people would assume I was flying across the world. However, I was only flying across 8 states. I arrived at the Minneapolis airport at 5:30 AM and did not arrive at the Durham airport until 10:45 PM. This is definitely not how I planned to spend my Sunday, especially as finals are quickly approaching. However, as my frustration and exhaustion begin to simmer down, I am left with an uncertainty of whom to blame.

        I arrived at gate B14 well before my flight was scheduled to board but soon received an email saying my flight was delayed an hour. Thirty minutes later, the flight was delayed another hour. Thirty minutes after that, it was delayed a third hour. As discouraging as these delays were, they seemed inevitable. There was extremely thick fog, making it difficult to see further than 20 yards. For this reason, planes were not able to land at the airport, and the scheduled flights were not able to occur without the planes. The airline had no control over the weather, so I could not blame it for the delays.

        As I observed the fog disappearing, I got my hopes up that my plane would be able to arrive soon. To my dismay, I received a notification that my flight was cancelled. I panicked – How could they do this? How will I get back to campus? To make matters worse, a plane had just landed at the gate next to me – Why couldn’t my plane land? The notification offered no explanation for the cancellation but merely said that the airline was working to rebook my flight.

        A few minutes later, I received the disheartening news that I was now scheduled to fly from Minneapolis to Louisville to Detroit and finally to Durham, arriving at 10:45 PM. I couldn’t understand how my direct flight had turned into a two-stop flight, landing nine hours later than originally planned. I had not blamed the airline for the delays due to weather, but I found myself blaming them for the cancellation and the rebooking to a much more complicated itinerary. The employees kept apologizing for the “inconvenience” and thanking us for our “patience,” but their words did not change the fact that I had to spend my entire day stranded at the airport. I would never be able to get those hours back.

        Many people would argue that I let those hours be wasted by dwelling on my situation. They would say I could have used those hours by being productive and enjoying the moment. However, it is very difficult to embrace the moment when your plans are destroyed and you are stressed about whether you will make it to your destination. Regardless, I do recognize that being stranded at the airport for the day is not the worst thing that can happen to you. The important thing is that I did finally make it to my destination and that I did so safely.

        I wonder if the reason I struggle with deciding whom to blame is because there is no one to blame. Yes, the airline probably could have handled the situation better, but I could have too. Worry, stress, and frustration are never beneficial. They lack the power to make a situation better, so I should have restrained them from consuming me. The only thing in life that we have control over is our self, so maybe our self is who we should consider first when we are searching for someone to blame.