All in all college is not an easy experience, but the challenges one faces as a commuter are an unpopular burden.TV shows and movies don't portray our way of life, and most college preparation talks do not revolve around the experiences of a commuter. We were never warned of the oppositions we might face by not living on campus, and yet we still have daily problems to battle. We may not endure the cost of dorm rooms, rent, or meal plans but we have our own expenses to deal with. We may not have rowdy neighbors across the hall or roommates we are currently fighting with, but we still encounter our share of problems. Like any college student we have our share of problems. Pop-culture may have forgotten about us, but I haven't so here are nine problems commuters may encounter every day.
9. ALWAYS RUNNING LATE
You can choose when you wake up, and go to class. You cannot choose when traffic jams occur, when the snow will fall, and when your car will need to be defrosted. Going to class late sucks for all students, but sometimes there are just one too many variables in our way.
8. WEATHER HAS BECOME YOUR NEMESIS
That two inches of snow last night, or the mild rain currently sprinkling down, can be the make or break for your entire day. Your shoes might be soaked, or you're running from building to building trying to stay warm and you don't have anything to change into because it's at home. Or maybe you were just late to class because some snow on the ground has left the entire driving world in chaos.
7. TRAFFIC IS YOUR MINOR
Not only does snow fall and rainy days bring turmoil to our daily commute, but anything and everything can go wrong on the road. Someone pulled over by a cop (five-minute delay), someone rear ends someone (10-minute delay), construction to fix potholes (10-minute delay), jerk who has yet to discover how to use a blinker and cut you off (timeless).
6. PARKING IS A POP QUIZ
There is either no parking spaces, a line for the parking structure, or someone just swooped in and took the spot you were waiting for. It's costing you money, and yet you don't really have much choice. You have to park somewhere, and on the rare occasion you find a free parking spot two blocks past the middle of nowhere, it might be a newly no parking zone and you have an additional $50 to pay.
5. I COULD BE SLEEPING
Rather than spending your day driving to and from school or packing and making sure you have everything for school, you could be sleeping. All those precious minutes and/or hours of sleep gone. Not to mention the drive home can be tiresome.
4. I THOUGHT I WAS SAVING $$$
So you don't pay for your dorm or an apartment, yet you're still broke? After paying for gas to get to school, paying to park, and paying for food anytime you're hungry (because you lack a kitchen on campus) it seems as though you never have any money.
3. BACKPACKING ON CAMPUS OR LIVING OUT OF YOUR CAR
All your needed belongings must be carried with you or put into your car. It is like going on vacation every day (without the vacation), where you need to pack a bag full of things you need. You can either keep all necessities in your car, walking to your car like it's your high school locker, or you can just backpack around campus.
2. YOU'RE ALWAYS FORGETTING SOMETHING
Doesn't matter how prepared you are, there is always that one thing you forgot, and it is pretty much inconvenient or just not possible to go all the way home and get it.
1. FOREVER ALONE HAS A WHOLE NEW MEANING
The loneliest I have ever been in life is as a commuter student. Making friends, and keeping friends is almost as hard as the classes themselves. The only time you really come in contact with people is in class. In a lecture hall full of students listening to a professor, one does not get much time for socialization, and the few people you might chat with, are gone and off in an instant. In a discussion class you may make a friend or two, but you really don't see them outside of class (unless required) and after the semester, you never see them again. The commuter life is a lonely life, and for many, they must seek organizations and campus activities to make sense of their circumstances.
