I went to the airport for the first time when I was 13 or 14 years old. I was picking up my sister and her new boyfriend who were coming from England. I was so excited—I expected to see lots of planes and all the things that the airport has to offer.

Their plane was scheduled to land midday. As my step-mom didn’t have a car, she asked her friend if she could give us a ride. The car was small, for only five people. The driver, my step-mom, and I made three, plus my sister and her boyfriend made five...but then my grandmother (the mother of my step-mom) decided she wanted to go too. I agreed hesitantly.

We left home early to be there on time. But the plane was late, and they didn’t know exactly how long it would be. So we waited and waited…until we started to get hungry. Everything at the airport was very expensive, so my step-mom had the idea of going to a supermarket to buy something to eat and, of course, she had the idea that I had to go along too. We spent a lot of time walking under the sun in search of a supermarket. Exhausted, we finally found one that was far away from the airport. We bought something to eat and headed back.

By the time we arrived at the airport it was was almost 7 p.m. and the plane was about to land. We were all very excited.

My sister and her boyfriend came out of the gate and everyone began to scream: Márcia, Márcia, Márcia, over here!

I tried to see her but other people got in the way. As soon as I caught a glimpse of her, everything began to spin and I fainted (due to a lack of food, I guess). All I recall is hearing voices in the distance and hitting my chin on the floor.

When I woke up I expected to see faces looking at me, but all I saw—or maybe it was a mirage?—was a man sitting closeby staring at me. I thought: Seriously? Are you going to just sit there, and not help me?!

I got up and walked to my family. My step-mom asked me casually: “Did you just fall?”

“I fainted,” I said, “and thank you for noticing!”

It really upset me—not only because I often feel that no one notices me, but also because my entire trip to the airport was reduced to being a fainter! But there’s one thing I can tell you: the airport floor is super clean, shiny, and hard!