I recently returned from a trip to Los Angeles and while on my trip, I saw many different travelling habits. It’s hard to remember — especially in a laid-back community such as Squamish — that we must remain punctual even during our summer travels.
On the morning we left, my parents and I woke up at 3:30 a.m. so that we would arrive at the airport at the recommended time of three hours before our departure. The airport was packed. As we went through customs, I witnessed a person ask the security guard if they could cut in front of the line because their flight was leaving. In situations like this, I realize that you have to think of the people around you. Everyone was trying to get to their flights, and nothing puts one person above the rest.
On our way back to Vancouver, I witnessed something similar. This time, it was on the airport shuttle and the traveller walked to the front of the bus to ask the driver to speed up because their flight was leaving in 45 minutes — as if it was the driver’s responsibility to get the passenger to their flight on time.
Wouldn’t we all have liked to have spent a little more time in L.A. before arriving at the airport on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? I know I would have. Instead, we followed the recommendation of arriving three hours before our departure time.
It seems like whenever we make mistakes, we automatically try to hold someone else accountable for them. We need to take more responsibility for our own actions and consequences.
As a worker in the fast food industry, I see and hear people complain about being late all the time, despite taking the risk of going through the drive-thru in the first place, and taking it out on me as if it’s my fault that they’re running late.
Being on time is not a group effort.
That doesn’t mean we can’t be kind. We can let someone get by or go ahead of us in line. In stressful situations, it’s easy to forget that we’re all just trying our best. However, we don’t have to accept blame for someone else’s bad judgement call.
It’s because of situations like this that I do my best to practice punctuality every single day. This is why I don’t show up late to school or work, hand in assignments past due, or miss the school bus.
Summer travel is undoubtedly one of the best things to do during summer vacation, but if you travel without punctuality, a lot can go wrong. Choose to be responsible over desperately trying to soak up every last minute because if you risk not being on time, you could risk ruining it all.
When we’re on time, we have more time. If we have a minute to spare, we can slow down, take a deep breath, and move on.
Grant Boguski is a Squamish teen and Squamish Youth Council member.
