Commuting to college can be awful. Between the traffic, gas, angry drivers, parking, one can go insane. Commuters have an entirely different college experience from those who dorm, both for better and worse. Despite the occasional fleeting fantasies of what it would be like to live on campus, I don’t have any regrets. After driving to school for the year, the car has become has become a wonderful temple of sorts. Commuting has become a form of meditation for me. A place where I learn, think, introspect, and appreciate my time in college. Below are the experiences that define commuting to college.
1. Living at home with your parents
If you are commuting you most likely live with your parents. This is not exactly a positive. Most college students find it dreadful to have to report back to their creators. Although there are some undeniable benefits like never having to go grocery or having someone to make sure that their tuition money is being put to good use.
2. Not being part of dorm life
Living on campus is a unique experience that allows you to be with your friends all the time. I assume it’s a blast… Commuting, for the most part, excludes you from the slumber parties and other overnight jazz. Being a commuter, you'll either have to commute back home late or have to park your car overnight and risk a hefty ticket. The inability to join your friends' constant 24-hour parties will be stink, but it is not without its benefits. Having to pull yourself away and drive home at the end of the day will give you time to think, and, I know it sounds sappy, but it will allow you to grow as an individual.
3. Radio personalities
Sure, you’ll miss out on dorm room get-togethers, but who needs those? Some of my best friends I’ve made in college are people are those I've been introduced to while commuting. Granted, these are people I have never met… But I feel that Terry Gross, Marc Maron, and Ira Glass are all friends I can heavily rely on in times of crisis.
4. Podcasts will consume you
Podcasts will light a fire in your soul with the most wonderful, albeit extremely irrelevant, knowledge. If you have not listened to a good podcast then you have not started living…
5. Your commute is the best time to think
You'll replay the events of that day, take stock of your life, visualize one hand clapping… Until the cars behind you start angrily honking at you for going twenty miles below the speed limit.
6. There will be singing...
Few things are as cathartic as singing a Rocket Man at the top of your lungs while alone in your car…
7. Parking.
Alright, fine, parking is terrible. I wake up 3-5 times a night drenched in sweat dreading parking for the next morning… I have not grown in any way from parking... This is the one thing about commuting I regret.
Being a commuter is a different kind of college experience, albeit one that is nerdy and occasionally lonesome. Nevertheless, when you accept the commuter lifestyle and embrace it, you will become one with the ‘river’ (the Northern State Parkway) and I guarantee that something within will change.
