This time last year, I never would have thought that I'd ever be one of "those" college kids, still living at home and relying on a system of public transportation whose only source of reliability is its inherent unreliability. And all my septa-goers out there know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

For my freshman year, I decided to live in Morgan North with one of my best friends from high school. Then, in July, a month before move-in, I got a job at a local restaurant. At the time I had no idea, but I would go on to spend every single Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the school year at home working instead of at school exploring myself and this brand new world that was college.

And I hated it. It became so tedious running to and from Temple on Friday afternoons and Sunday nights, and I wished countless times that I was living at home because I thought it would be easier.

Based on that, I thought long and hard about what I would do for housing this year. I eventually decided that commuting would be my best option, as I would save an exorbitant amount of money, and I would get to keep my relatively well-paying job. Plus, I would get to sleep in my own bed, see my family all the time, and watch my little sisters experience junior year of high school and first grade, respectively. What could possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately, a lot more than I had hoped. I sure do love my family, but boy can they be overbearing sometimes. I had gotten used to the freedom of living at school and not having to tell anyone where I was going, when, or with whom, or how long I'd be gone for, and now, I suddenly have people keeping tabs on me again. I do have to give my parents credit where credit is due though; they are at least making an effort to give me my space and my freedom as much as possible.

Another thing that sucks about commuting is just that: the commute itself. Spending 40 minutes each way packed like sardines into a train car that may or may not be to hot and/or too cold at any given moment gets increasingly more frustrating every day.

Not to mention Septa is notorious for not being on time, like, ever, running the shortest trains during rush hour, and even cancelling trains for no reason (there is definitely a reason I just find it so incredibly annoying that it becomes irrelevant).

Commuting also means I have to get up SO much earlier than I did last year. I totally miss getting up at 9:20 for a class that started at 9:30, because now for a 9:30 class I have to get up at 7:00 to take a train at 7:52. I also feel like I am missing out on part of the college experience by not living on campus.

Since I work four days a week, two of them being during the weekend, I am finding it difficult to spend time with my school friends, and I would like to see them more than in passing or just to meet up for lunch every once in a while. Basically, commuting has just been one giant nightmare so far, and I sort of hate it.

At the same time though, living at home has had its perks. It is nice to be able to work more, because after all I am still a broke college student. Not as broke as I could be though, especially since, thanks to financial aid and my dad's place of employment (Swarthmore College) paying half of my tuition, I didn't need to take out a private loan this year. That alone probably saved around 20k, so you're welcome, Future Lauren. It is also such a wonderful feeling to sleep in my own bed and eat home cooked meals frequently.

When I lived at school I missed my sisters nagging me all the time and I missed my mom's awful jokes, and being home has made me cherish the little things I enjoy about my family members so much more. I love my dogs, I love helping my six-year-old sister practice for her piano and voice lessons, and I love having access to ALL of my clothes and not just what I could fit in my tiny dorm room closet.

So maybe commuting isn't all that bad. But its also pretty terrible. I can't quite decide which outweighs the other at the moment, so, for now, I'll just have to accept the love/hate relationship I have with commuting to college.