Once again, I find myself sitting in an airport waiting patiently for a flight to take me to my first of two destinations in the next four weeks. Once again I am sitting near my gate waiting for the pre-boarding to begin. And once again – I am getting ready to begin a great vacation. The only difference between this time and the last time I did this exact same thing is what took place on September 11th – forever altering our world.

Besides the millions of other changes the world has gone through since September 11th, airports have gone through so many changes, that they are almost unrecognizable now. From half a dozen workers at every checkpoint, to thorough security checks that include bag checks and shoe removal – to guards with machine guns stationed at every major airport – things are very different now since the last time I came to an airport to take a flight.

Besides the obvious changes to airport security, I find my own attitude about flying a little different as well. While I am still extremely excited about flying and eager to run onto my plane – I am a tad concerned about something happening – especially with this week’s announcement that other attacks against this country are imminent. But in spite of the terror threats and the uncertainty surrounding flying these days – I refuse to let what has happened and what may happen curb my existence and prevent me from enjoying my life. While it is true that the feeling of invulnerability that this country had is now gone forever – I will not allow that to stand in the way of me living my life to the fullest.

Don’t get me wrong, I have had the worst case scenarios run through my head already – and have even come up with contingency plans as to what I must do should something happen to me today, but by no means did I consider canceling my flight. I have worked too hard and too long to stop living the way I do just because of some slimes that happen to hate America. I will not cower to their goal of scaring us all to death so much that we refuse to travel in fear of our lives – and I will certainly not sit by should something happen while that plane is in the air. So should something happen – God forbid – you can rest assured that those monsters won’t stand a chance if they are on my plane.

So with two hours and fourteen minutes to go until my first flight since September 11th takes off – I am ready to fly – and ready to have fun.