Shifting around in the small seat and attempting to find a comfortable position in the very back of the airplane wasn’t very effective. Everyone was still searching for their seats in the cramped space, shoving bags into the overhead compartments and going about their business. Looking around, I watched all the different people weave in and out of each other. The young couples, the arguing siblings, the elderly ones, and the crying babies. All of them with their own stories and lives that I would never know. And I would only be another stranger to them, a nameless face soon to be forgotten. Unless I took a chance and spoke to them, I would just be another person in the crowd.

Things were starting to settle down, and as less people filled the narrow walkway, my eyes landed on the man across from my own seat next to the aisle. A dark skinned, middle aged guy, wearing long black pants. He was forced to stand to allow another man through to an inner seat, and I watched him stand up rather awkwardly, not really bending his right leg, and relying heavily on his arms to push himself up off the seat. Immediately curious, I kept my eyes on him as he sat back down, still not seeming to have proper use of his leg. And as soon as he was settled in his seat once more, it was obvious that the knee joint of his right leg was not of  a normal one. It was much more knobby, and not quite in proportion to the rest of his body as it should have been, his pants draping over it in an odd fashion. I quickly came to the conclusion that he might have a prosthetic leg, and the more I studied it the more I believed it. In my mind I was jumping in excitement because right across from me was this guy with a prosthetic leg, and how cool is that?

I wanted to call out, to ask him about his leg, what happened, how it worked, and everything in between. I ached with curiosity, and my head was racing with all the possibilities. But I couldn’t make myself open my mouth to speak, my throat suddenly dry. The hustle and bustle of everyone else faded into the background, and all I could focus on was the overwhelming fear of saying something to that man. I couldn’t take the risk, I mean, what if it all backfired? What if he was offended, what if he didn’t actually have a prosthetic leg and my eyes were just tricking me? No no, that couldn’t be right, I know what I saw and what was there in front of me. And I so badly wanted just to ask, to have an interesting conversation with this stranger before I missed the rare opportunity. It’s certainly not every day you meet someone with an artificial limb.

I spent so long worrying over how to approach him, my tone of voice, how to catch his attention, what I would say, etc., all the while knowing that the clock was ticking, with the window of opportunity closing fast. The man was flipping through one of the magazines from the pocket on the seat in front of him, not seeming to actually stop and read any of them. He put the magazine away and leaned back in his seat, appearing to be rather tired, which did absolutely nothing for my confidence. Now I was also kind of freaking out because, oh no, he’s falling asleep, and then I can’t ask him about his leg; if he’s trying to fall asleep that’s really rude. Oh crap, I’ve missed my chance.

The plane hadn’t even started to taxi yet, but I absolutely needed to talk to that guy before too much time passed for it to be awkward. I mean, it was already awkward, but more than it was. I’ve always been rather cautious with my decisions, and whenever it came to taking action for things like this, I usually stayed passive until I was pushed into it by someone else. But this time, I only had myself to nudge into taking initiative. And by now, I figured it was too late. Disappointment filled me as I realized that I was so caught up in my own meandering mind that I missed the opening I needed to start the conversation.

Now we were starting to move, the airplane beginning to speed down the runway. I finally turned my head so that it was facing back forwards, once again trying to find a comfortable position for myself. As we lifted off, I gave a last glance to the man, but now seeing that he was stirring and opening his eyes. He never ended up falling asleep after all, I guess, and my heart leapt at the opportunity opening up again. I froze again, my mind racing with the possibilities and running through all the things I could say. All I knew was that I couldn’t squander this second chance that had been given to me. I was still extremely fearful, but not to the extent of before. In my mind I had lost this opening once already, and I knew that if I didn’t speak quickly, I would always wonder what could’ve been. And that’s what really pushed me into action. Before I could stop myself, the words were spilling from my mouth.

“Sir? Um,” my voice was hoarse and quiet, and I cleared my throat before continuing, “Excuse me, sir? I couldn’t help but notice your leg. You have a prosthetic, right?” He turned and smiled at me. He seemed pleasantly surprised and responded kindly. He asked how I had noticed his prosthetic, and I explained all that I had seen. In turn, he told me about how his leg had been blown off by a shell when he had served as a soldier in Afghanistan. He seemed genuinely glad to share his story, and talking with him was much less menacing than it had seemed a few moments ago. I had been able to best my own worries and start a conversation with this interesting stranger, and to me, it felt like a weight that I didn’t even know existed was lifted from my chest.

It was remarkably fascinating to have the experience and talk to this man with a prosthetic limb, which I would’ve never been able to do if I hadn’t taken the chance and tried speaking to him. I’ve always been a bit of a wreck in social situations, and taking initiative to satisfy my curiosity was almost completely new to me, especially on my own. It was most certainly a step forward in dealing with the constraints of my own mind and going out of my comfort zone. The man, whose name I had never even asked, had shown me his prosthetic and was so kind to me. It helped me to realize that not everything was going to be as horrible and awkward as I would always make it out to be. You really never know, but honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?

There are an infinite amount of opportunities that pass through our lives, if only we would reach out and grab them. It’s perfectly okay to take risks and just learn as you go. Isn’t that how we all get through this existence? We could change the course of our lives if we wanted to, right now. You could go out and confess your crush, start working out, chop all your hair off, make a new friend, doing all of these things from where we are right now. But you have to start with that first leap of faith. So let me say this; go out into the world and change it, take those risks, leave your mark, and you never know what could happen.

-Joanna Chen