Commuting to college comes with its perks, but sometimes, we commuters get lost in the downsides of our journey to school. I go to a four-year school that I love and everyone hates to leave, so it’s not often that you meet someone who is willing to give up “the college experience” like myself. For those of you have, wherever you may find yourself, here are just a few commuter obstacles you have probably faced:

1. You always need to plan ahead.

There’s nothing like driving for almost an hour when school is only 20-25 minutes away. As a commuter, you need to factor the drive into your plan for the day such as what time you're going to wake up. Remember that you still need to drive, struggle to find parking, and walk to the designated building.

2. Events are oriented for people who live on campus.

If you commute and you’re anything like me, then you try your best to avoid having hour-long gaps that require you to sit around and wait in random lounges. I try my best to schedule my classes in the morning so I can be done with my day and on my way home by 3 p.m. The biggest dilemma with this is that most colleges host their events late at night anywhere from 8 to 10 p.m. so everyone can make it without having class schedules interfere. Unfortunately for commuters, you’re left with two options: you can either suck it up and wait for five hours for what may be a half-hour-long meeting, or you can go home and drive back. Both options aren’t ideal, which leave commuter students less likely to become involved during their college years.

3. Going out is annoying.

Going out shouldn’t be a worry, but when you don’t live on campus it becomes tedious. This is probably one of my biggest annoyances as I’m able to deal with many of the downsides of living at home. Sure, you may have friends who are more than willing to let you crash after a night out, but you become to feel irritating when you have to stick with someone the whole night in fear losing them and not having a place to stay. Despite having friends who let me sleep over, I hate feeling needy and would love to just be independent.

4. The long gaps in your schedule.

Fortunately, I live close enough so that I could go home during hour-long gaps, unlike many other students. With this being said, I always have to factor in travel time, and it makes me question if leaving and coming back is even worth it. In a perfect world, I’d love to take a nap in between gaps to recharge for my next class, but when you have nowhere to go, you’ll often find kids taking naps on couches at the library. Hey, if I wasn’t so scared someone would Snapchat me for giggles, I’d do it too!

5. Difficulty in meeting new people.

It seems like everyone knows each other from freshman year dorms and activities and have created strong friendships out of this. As for myself, I recently joined a sorority last semester so this has become much easier for me. However, Greek life isn’t for everyone and it’s hard to join clubs when all the meetings are at 10 p.m.

With this being said, saving 10K a year and the comfort of your own bed at home aren’t terrible commuter perks.