A year ago, choosing which college to go to was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. While my friends were picking colleges that were all across the country, I had to decide whether this drastic change was the right choice for me. As it came time to pick where I wanted to go, I had to think long and hard about one question: Is living in a dorm something I want to do? Looking back now, deciding to live at home and commute to college was the best decision of my life.
- You still get the college experience within the comfort of your own home. Just because you don’t dorm at college doesn’t mean you don’t get the full experience. I get to enjoy every part of college, but at the end of the day it’s relaxing to sleep in my own room in the comfort of my own bed.
- You stay more focused on academics. While all of your other friends are going out every night, hitting up the bars and not totally focusing on their school work, you don’t suffer through the same pressure to go out. Being a commuter rids you of the obligation of always going out, because as a commuter it's truly not practical. Being a commuter is the perfect excuse for when you want to focus on your work and not feel so lame for saying "no" to going out.
- No interruptions. Everyone knows that a roommate can get extremely annoying and distracting. Commuting eliminates ever having to deal with that burden. Even if you have a younger sibling at home who drives you crazy most of the time (like me), nothing is more annoying than a roommate who stays up until unreasonable hours at night, brings back friends without any warning, or plays loud music when you're clearly doing homework.
- You have a legitimate excuse whenever you’re late. Being late to class is something that happens to everyone, no matter his or her housing situation. As a commuter, instead of having to come up with some grand excuse that a professor typically wouldn’t believe, capitalizing on the fact that you're a commuter leads them to be more understanding and lenient.
- No homesickness. As much as people deny it, everyone gets homesick. The beauty of commuting is that, whenever you need to spend time with someone in your family, you don’t have to travel a long distance because they’re there when you get home. Personally, I'm very close to my mom. So, if I have a extremely rough day at school, I know that my mom is always at home to help me and make me feel better. In the end, we all know that our families are our best supporters.
Being able to live at home, sleep in my own bed, cuddle with my kitten whenever my heart desires, and still have the full college experience is something I never thought I would have together all at once. Every day I am more confident in my decision to commute to college and experience it the way I want to, not the way societal norms say I should.
