10 pro-travel tips from a pro-traveler

1. Be aware of your fellow travelers. I can't stress this enough- If you are taking up 3 seats in the boarding area I am judging you.
2. Put yourself together. If you put on an outfit and do your makeup, you will feel confident. If you feel confident, you will feel like you can concur the world. And- you never know who you will sit next to on your flight. Be it future employer, future best friend, or future husband...you don't want to strike up conversation with anyone if you look like a slob.
3. Download the mobile apps for your airlines OR if you fly a lot, download TripIt. This app actually changed my life. I never know when I am going anywhere and sometimes travel agent emails are hard to follow. Tripit takes the guessing out of where my next flight is and it is always easy to look up confirmation numbers. Besides that, having a mobile boarding pass saves trees and I feel extra cool when I scan it going through security. Learn more about Tripit here.
4. Being hysterical in the airport gets you NO WHERE. I have seen girls in airports cry hysterically about things they are ZERO control over and generally, people do not want to deal with you if you are hysterical. Yes, being stuck in the airport is no fun, but screaming/yelling/bashing your gate agent will not get you a seat on the oversold flight. Plus, you look ridiculous and no one is going to help you. 
5. Check out the closest map to find out where you should eat. Eating crap while traveling is easy, but I can still say I have never eaten at a McDonalds/Wendys/Insert fast food chain here during any of my travels. Look at a map to see if you are by anything that has healthy options. (Shout out to the Philly Airport for that Chipotle though...)
6. ALWAYS get to the airport early. Don't listen to the people that say "Well, it's a really small airport so you'll get through security in no time!" or "The shuttle comes at XYZ time, you'll be fine!" Trust your instinct and go when you feel comfortable. (Shoutout to Samantha for NOT missing her flight in New Orleans the other day)
7. Packing cubes will change your life. Just like cleaning your room, you want your suitcase to be orderly so you can find things. From the backpacker to the consultant, I FULLY ENDORSE PACKING CUBES. In my suitcase I use one for tops (with the rolling method, these cubes make your suitcase SO organized) and another for bottoms. I use these cubes from Eagle Creek. 
8. Pack your chargers and chords for everything in your carry on. You never know where your bag will end up or how long you could be in that airport. Many airports have USB charging stations for phones and I am guilty of purchasing Wi-Fi on airplanes- so you'll want to make sure your laptop is charged.
9. Don't automatically blame the airline if you're having issues. I have literally heard it ALL. Mechanical errors, bird flew into the engine, pilot is sick, we don't have any flight attendants, etc. So many of these factors are not in the airline's control, so calling an airline and berating them won't make you take off any faster.  
10. Go with the flow! It's no secret that travel can be stressful (like the time they made me throw out my yogurt AKA my breakfast going through security and I almost cried. Yogurt is not a liquid as far as I'm concerned. So. Stressful.), but there are worse things than getting stuck in O'Hare for 7 hours, on two different occasions. You WILL get to your destination eventually, it might just take a bus, 2 planes, and a 30 minute car ride before you get there! Might as well enjoy it!