12-year-old Amara Johnson sat quietly in seat 14A, her small backpack tucked neatly under the seat in front of her. She wasn’t the type to cause trouble. Her mother always taught her to stay polite, keep to yourself, and respect people, even if they don’t respect you back. It was a cold winter morning, and Amara felt a chill as she traveled from Chicago to New York.

As she sat there, she thought about A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, a play that explores love, marriage, and the unrealistic expectations that often accompany them. This essay would explore how marriage is portrayed as limiting and difficult, but ultimately worthwhile. The play reflects a Renaissance philosophy about the nature of love, showcasing the disparity in expectations placed on men and women.

Heria embodies this struggle as she defies her father Egus’s wishes to marry Demetrius, showcasing her desire for autonomy and true love rather than just fulfilling her duty to society. In contrast, men are generally afforded a broader range of achievements and aspirations. They are encouraged to pursue careers, adventures, and personal accomplishments that lead to social recognition. Demetrius, for instance, initially pursues Heria out of a sense of entitlement, thinking he can claim her because that is what society expects of her. Another example is the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, rooted in conquest and power dynamics, reflecting the expectations of a hierarchical society.

Theseus, as the Duke of Athens, represents authority, and his marriage to the conquered queen Hippolyta suggests that marriage can also be about control and possession rather than something purer.

Amara pulled her hoodie tighter around her shoulders, but it wasn’t enough. She looked around and noticed other passengers snuggling under airline-issued blankets. She decided to ask for one. When the flight attendant, Stephanie, walked past, Amara spoke up gently, “Excuse me. May I have a blanket, please? It’s really cold.”

Stephanie didn’t even slow down. She gave a quick glance and replied, “Blankets are for first-class passengers only,” before moving on. Amara’s heart sank. She knew it wasn’t true; she had seen another passenger in her section get one just ten minutes earlier. That passenger happened to be a white teenage girl about her age.

Feeling dismissed, Amara pressed the call button. A different flight attendant, Mark, arrived. Amara asked again, and Mark looked uncomfortable. “Uh, I’ll check for you,” he said. But when he came back, his voice dropped. “I’m sorry, we’re out of blankets.” But Amara noticed something. Mark was holding two folded blankets and walked right past her, handing them to a couple seated just two rows behind her.

It wasn’t about blankets anymore. It was about being told without words, “You don’t matter as much as they do.” She texted her dad, “Dad, they won’t give me a blanket. I asked twice, but they gave them to other people after me.”

Her father, Marcus Johnson, wasn’t just any dad. He was the CEO of a major airline, not this one, but a competitor large enough to be taken seriously. He also sat on the board of the Federal Aviation Oversight Council, the body that regulates airlines nationwide. And yes, he knew the CEO of the airline his daughter was currently flying on personally.

When Marcus saw the message, he didn’t reply right away. Instead, he made a call. On the flight deck, the captain was reviewing the route when the intercom phone rang. He picked it up, “This is Captain Reynolds.” A voice on the other end said calmly, “Captain, this is Thomas in corporate operations. We’ve received a direct call from Mr. Marcus Johnson.”

The captain’s brow furrowed. He knew the name. Everyone in the industry did. Thomas continued, “His daughter is in 14A. She has reported discriminatory treatment from your cabin crew. I’m instructed to tell you to resolve the situation immediately and document everything for the CEO. They’re watching this flight closely now.”

The captain stood up without hesitation and left the cockpit. The flight attendants looked startled as he approached. “Which of you spoke to the young lady in 14A about a blanket?” he asked. Stephanie raised her hand slowly. “I told her blankets are only for first class.”

“That’s incorrect,” the captain replied, his tone sharp but controlled. “And you gave blankets to other passengers in her section afterward. Why?” Stephanie stammered, “I didn’t realize.” “No,” the captain cut in. “You realized exactly what you were doing. Fix it right now.”

Stephanie hurried down the aisle with a blanket in hand. But when she reached Amara, the girl shook her head politely. “No thank you,” she said softly. The captain came to her seat. “Miss Johnson, I want to personally apologize for what happened. You should never have been treated that way.” Amara nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

The rest of the flight was quiet, but the atmosphere had shifted. Stephanie avoided eye contact with Amara. Mark, the other attendant, seemed embarrassed. When the plane landed in New York, Amara was met at the gate by an airline manager, clearly briefed on the situation. “Miss Johnson, we deeply apologize. We’ll be following up with your family.”

Later that evening, Marcus Johnson received a personal call from the CEO of the airline. “Marcus, I’m so sorry this happened on my watch. We’re conducting an immediate review of the crew’s conduct. Rest assured, disciplinary action will be taken.”

Marcus didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “I expect more than disciplinary action. I expect training. If my daughter can be treated this way while quietly sitting in her seat, what happens to children whose parents can’t make a phone call to the top?”

Within a month, that airline rolled out a new diversity and inclusion training program mandatory for all employees. The incident became an example in internal case studies of how quickly a small act of discrimination could turn into a corporate crisis.

As for Amara, she didn’t care about the blanket anymore. She cared that someone had stood up for her and that her father made sure the system changed, even just a little. And somewhere, maybe on another cold flight, a child would get a blanket without having to wonder if they mattered.