“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” is easily Katherine Bryant’s favorite quotation. Today is the day she will board a plane to study abroad in Europe. As she embarks on her sophomore year of college, she has yet to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Her freshman year was consumed by majoring in business, not because she really felt drawn to the field, but because her parents believed it was a safe route to go since she didn’t yet feel a passion for any particular career. Now, with her freshman year behind her, Katherine has arrived at the conclusion that business does not inspire her in the slightest, so she sets out to find herself.

“Are you sure you're ready for this?” Katherine's mom asks at the airport.

“Yes mom, I've never been more sure,” Katherine replies confidently. Typically, major life decisions leave Katherine feeling quite indecisive. This time she is truly ready.

After bidding farewell to her parents at the entrance of the airport in Philadelphia, Katherine, although nervous, forces a confident look on her face, knowing she is without the comfort of her mother. Glancing at her phone, Katherine sees that the time is 7:26. Her plane boards at 7:30.

“Four minutes,” Katherine thinks to herself. She takes her place in the boarding line and clenches her suitcase. She allows herself to collect her thoughts for a moment.

“Okay, I have everything. I am going to be just fine. It’s only for a semester. I need to make the most of my time and really concentrate on my likes and dislikes. No more of this I “don’t know.” I am going to find my passion,” Katherines thinks to herself.

The passengers begin boarding and Katherine finds her seat on the plane. She looks out the window next to her and waits for the plane to take off. It’s been a few years since she has traveled by plane, and this is the first time she has ever flown alone. Katherine stares out the window as the sky magically changes from day to night. The colors in the sky are beyond beautiful and she engulfs herself in this thrill. She closes her weary eyes and begins to dream.

Suddenly, Katherine wakes up in France and is somehow already lost. It is dark and she seems to be in Paris. The Eiffel Tower is to her left, but she is otherwise lost in this foreign country. She doesn’t know where to go so she finds a coffee shop on the nearest street corner. Cafe Cassette the sign reads as she walks in. She orders a black coffee and takes a seat in the corner of the small cafe. She notices a man with jet black air in his early twenties who she assumes speaks English because he is reading an American novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Katherine turns to him and begins to comment on the book.

“Ah, I love that book!” Katherine says to the man feeling spontaneous. He looks up and shows his deep hazel eyes.

“Yes, it’s a great read. It’s my third time reading it. I think it’s quite remarkable!” He offers his hand. “My name is Colin.”

“Katherine,” I reply. “The last time I read The Catcher in the Rye was in my sophomore year of high school. I love it! I actually quote J.D. Salinger all the time in my school essays.”

“Let’s hear!”

“Hmm...let me get out my phone and look at my notes. Ahh, here’s one I really like: ‘Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.’” I laugh a little to myself.

“I love that!” he says, “I find almost everything he writes in this book to be incredibly true. Sometimes, it seems too true. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, Holden Caulfield was quite a depressing character.”

“Yes, but then again aren’t we all?”

I smirk. Yes, Colin is quite accurate. Perhaps the whole reason we are so depressed is because we all think we can never be anything more than just average. This is a thought that often comes to my head.

“I better get going,” I say. “I have to find my hotel.”

“Hopefully, I’ll see you around,” Colin replies.

On my way to finding the unfamiliar hotel, I think a lot about the book. Maybe that book is true and finding myself doesn’t mean doing something that will change my life. Maybe it will be discovering something that I didn’t know I already had.

I woke up at the slight jostle of the plane. Oh, just a dream, but it was a dream that was startlingly real. I look through my carryon bag and find my Nook and begin reading The Catcher in the Rye.