Good morning sunshine! Though the sun unleashes a beautiful day in New Orleans, I cannot shake the tiredness that looms over me. My body does not successfully absorb any form of caffeine and my brain refuses to accept that it is seven o’clock in the morning. Thankfully, the morning session of my Sunday job with Norwegian Cruise Line requires no thought process. I slump against the wall of an empty room with other indebted teenagers waiting to fill with luggage from a cruise. Although the sound of waves crashing soothes me, I cannot enjoy a luxurious sleep. My boss notices me straining to keep my fifty-pound eyelids open and reminds me of the reason I receive a paycheck. Brown tags go in the brown room, and red tags go in the red room. Purple tags go in the purple room, and green tags go in the green room. This was boring enough to make my eyelids gain more weight. To keep my mind occupied, I people watch and notice the variety of luggage and consider whom they belong to…

The luggage with twenty tags. “I FOUND IT!” Of course she did, how could the anal mother overlook the twenty neon tags on each of the luggage? And these tags are not just bright colored paper tags, but hand-made obnoxious pom-poms tied to each family member’s bag. Did she expect a real life “Where’s Waldo?” in this luggage room?

The serious black bag. Stiff and sharp, just like its owner. Well, not anymore. He arrived as dull lawyer in desperate need of life. He ironed his shirt and had consecutively smaller ballpoint pens in the pocket. He was on the phone with his wife while texting his assistant about a case three weeks later. His work swallowed him whole and left him with no hobbies or freedom. However, after his cruise, he released all of his concerns, fears, and calendars. He sauntered in belting out a reggae tune he learned while in Jamaica. His unshaven face and Hawaiian shirt pave the way for his new life. I guess he will not need that bag anymore.

The matching leopard suitcases. These five consecutively smaller leopard print bags could only belong to a mid-life crisis woman trying to seem young by her style. Hopefully she comprehends that the only people looking at her luggage are we workers, who obviously are not fooled. We have checked the birth date on her passport, and we know she is fifty-seven.

The classy trash bag. This bag would have to be my absolute favorite. This college student understands that luggage is heaved, dropped, and shoved by men that have never learned the word fragile. They spend hard-earned money on more important items, such as books, food, and gas, not useless luggage that ends up ripped and missing a wheel. Kudos to you; if only everyone was as sensible.

The cute floral duffle. Pink with swirls and flowers. This duffle must belong to a thirteen-year old girl. She only bought this bag because the coolest girl in her eighth grade class has it. This bag states her coolness and her conformity. She feels lost in this big world and the pressures of high school do not help. Not to worry though, high school does not last forever.

Remember that first impressions are the most important. Before we met you, we met your luggage. So carefully consider your choice of luggage because this is the topic of conversation during our lunch break.