Air travel has becoming interesting.

I have been traveling by air regularly since 2004 and, fortunately and unfortunately, too much has changed about the flying experience over the last two decades. First, I went from not worrying about how much clothing protection I needed to wearing long-sleeved shirts, full-length pants, and closed-toe shoes that require socks. I do not wear a mask because it is less about germs and more about protecting my skin and personal space from others’ lack thereof.

When I board a flight, I will never know who sat in my seat before me. I will never know how much of the person’s sweat seeped into the fabric of the seat during the previous flight. Therefore, long sleeves and full-length pants protect my skin from the bodily fluids of a total stranger. My most cringe-worthy moments on a flight come from watching others plant their bare skins on seats against which strangers might have scratched their most undesirable itches.

The closed-toe shoes with socks, along with the protective layer of clothing, also protect against someone’s misunderstanding that our personal space in individual seats is shared simply because the seats are attached. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to nudge someone’s bag, jacket, arm, hand, and other possessions to their side of the armrest. Not too long ago, a gentleman sitting next to me in the middle seat opened his laptop and started typing away.

He was wearing a t-shirt, and his left elbow began to nudge my right arm as he typed away, oblivious to his skin connecting with my arm. I waited a couple of minutes to see if he would realize what was happening and stop typing out of consideration. When his elbow began digging deeper under my arm and inching closer to a more private area, I turned to him and asked, “Sir, do you plan to type on your laptop over the duration of the flight?” He stared at me and blinked.

Yes, I chose to be that professional because somehow it comes with an added level of authority that most people underestimate. After a moment of staring at my face, he answered, “Yes,” and continued typing. I replied, “Well, you keep hitting my arm with your elbow.” He looked at me again and, thankfully, apologized and put away his laptop. He kept his laptop in his bag the whole flight and his elbows tucked to his sides. They came nowhere near under my arm.

More recently, I sat in an aisle seat of a smaller plane with only two seats on either side of the aisle. A woman sat in the window seat next to me and brought with her an overstuffed backpack, a neck rest, a fleece, and a purse. During the flight, she ordered a glass of water filled almost to the rim. After some time, she asked if I could let her out to go to the bathroom. I got up and stepped into the aisle. She began to maneuver her neck rest, fleece, purse, and glass of water.

Lo and behold, she spilled the water on herself and on my seat. Thankfully, my backpack is waterproof and was zipped and tucked under the seat in front of me. To her credit, she immediately wiped the water on my seat with her fleece, but it was not enough. She apologized. I accepted her apology and asked her to grab a few napkins on the way back from the bathroom. I wish I could say I was phased or had a stronger reaction. But I have been traveling for 20+ years.