With the start of the new year also comes the approaching start of a new semester. As some juniors, like myself, prepare to go abroad, and international students anticipate their return to the Heights, many are faced with the impending dread of a long flight.
My upcoming trip to Barcelona is much longer than my typical flights, so I’m not looking forward to it. But, I’m no stranger to flying because I’ve traveled from my hometown in the South to Boston after every break. After three years of these flights—and what seem like even longer layovers—I’ve compiled a list of tips that I hope will help you hate flying a little less, whether your flight is eight hours or two hours long.
Reading
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy a good book. So, as I prepare to embark on my long airplane journey, I’m also readying to devour a novel or two.
Reading helps me block out my surroundings and focus on someone else’s life for a while. It also makes the time go by faster, preventing me from looking at the clock and counting down the hours left on my flight.
Watching
If you’re not a huge reader, you can still get lost in a plotline you love by downloading a show or movie from Netflix or another streaming service. Downloading a comfort movie—mine is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days—or show—The West Wing—helps the time fly by.
When I’m not in the mood to read, I use my flying time to catch up on shows I didn’t get to watch during the busy semester. Before my long journey to Barcelona, I downloaded the newest season of The Crown, and I can’t wait to watch the royal family’s storyline unfold.
Skin Care
I am, first and foremost, a skin care girl. I enjoy completing my skin care routine at the end of a long day, and I absolutely love doing my routine during a long flight because taking time to focus on my wellness while I’m traveling makes me feel like an “it girl.”
Because it’s been a while since I’ve had a super long flight, I looked to my old friend Vogue for some advice on how to exit the plane looking relatively put together. The magazine’s first big tip: wear your sunscreen! Even though it might be nighttime outside, airplanes have a high concentration of UV light, so sunscreen is a must. You can bring a quart-size bag full of liquids in your carry-on as long as each liquid is under 3.4 fluid ounces, so I highly recommend packing a hydrating face serum and a moisturizer to give you that fresh glow. Remember, skin care is about taking care of yourself, so don’t worry about what the people around you are thinking.
Preventing Jet Lag
The other day, my study abroad adviser emailed me some helpful tips to prevent jet lag. First, they said to set your phone’s clock to the local time of wherever you’re landing so you are ready to adjust to a new schedule.
You’re going to want to sleep during the flight so you’re not exhausted after, so I suggest bringing a sleep mask, noise-canceling headphones, and melatonin. This trio helps me get my full seven hours of sleep on any long flight, and I almost always feel refreshed when I land.
As the spring semester approaches, I know many BC students are dreading long days of traveling. Whether you’re preparing to go abroad or return to the Heights, I hope these tips help make your flight a little smoother.
