Is commuting excessively for your dream job worth it? I’ve done this before, and my commute was...extreme, to say the least. Though what I did was frankly foolish, I learned a valuable lesson from this I think we can all take from.

Two summers ago, my ambitious but naive 15-year-old self was determined to do a research internship at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) for the summer. This remarkable institution, however, resided 50+ miles from my home, and I had no other commuting option except to use public transportation. Yay.

Each way was at LEAST 2 hours of traveling, which totals to a round trip of...well, you can do the math (I don’t want to state the cringe-worthy figure). Sounds like a great way to spend the summer, right? Why in my right mind did I choose to work at JHU??? There were tons of organizations closer to where I lived, so why did I have to go all the way to another county every day?

The reason was, JHU is a renowned institution with excellent research going on. OK, it might have also been that it was the only offer I got after sending a plethora of emails. Ultimately, it was my only option, and I definitely couldn’t *not* do an internship, because then I would just “waste” the summer away, my rigid 15-year-old self thought...sigh.

And after all, I would be working on something I was fascinated by, something I held a true passion for, which could more than cancel out the endless commute, right? Besides, commuting doesn’t even require much energy; you’re just sitting there. I’d have plenty of time to meditate or read or get caught up on summer homework...

Wrong. The commute had taken its toll on me. Slowly but surely, I felt like I was merely rotting away with each bus/train/shuttle ride. Two months of this routine had subdued my excitement to wake up every morning, to pursue something I had been passionate about.

It’s counterintuitive that commuting would be “tiring," because it doesn’t require much of you in a physical sense. I suspect that it’s monotony and not moving around for long periods of time that causes this fatigue - primarily, mental fatigue. The mental exhaustion and deadness I felt have now made me realize that for future jobs, this hassle must be avoided at all costs.

A researcher even found that getting rid of a long commute produces an increase in happiness equivalent to what an extra $40,000 a year would produce. Isn’t that quite an income boost?

So here’s the takeaway. 1) Don’t slack off when searching for job opportunities, so that you won’t have to resort to impractical measures. 2) If you do have to resort to a job that’s close but far like mine was, do anything you can to avoid the commute. 3) Rent an apartment nearby if you have to. If you can’t do that, see if you can telecommute even just a couple of days each week.