At 16 and over six feet tall, flying has always been a challenge for me, especially in cramped economy seats. On a recent flight home with my mom, things took a turn for the worse when the man in front of me fully reclined his seat, crushing my knees. Despite my polite request for him to move his seat up, he shrugged it off, insisting he had paid for it.

After my mom called a flight attendant, who was unable to help, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I found a family-sized bag of pretzels in my mom’s bag and began eating noisily, letting crumbs fall on the man’s head. He eventually snapped at me, but I innocently claimed the pretzels were making a mess. A well-timed sneeze sent more crumbs his way, prompting him to finally raise his seat and free my legs.

The rest of the flight was much more comfortable, and as we landed, my mom expressed pride in my unconventional approach. I realized that sometimes, standing up for yourself—even in a messy way—can lead to victory.