I'm not the laziest person you'll ever meet. I love to sleep late, but my main source of laziness comes from transportation. I don't have a problem walking in cities (flat, busy, easy to navigate) but when carrying around what feels like a 100-pound backpack, I would rather not make the literal uphill battle from the Union to Sovi. No amount of M&M cookies is worth that hike. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy hiking in nature. When it comes to walking around school, however, I have developed a finite system so that I exert the least amount of energy possible.
Tip #1: The Bus System
Stay with me here. It took me three years to actually try out the UNCC campus shuttles. To me they seemed complicated and my social anxiety was screaming inside at the thought of boarding a big blue shuttle. One weekend I found myself stranded at Circle Apartments (across from the main entrance of campus.) My car was all the way in North Deck, aka as far apart as you can possibly get from Circle. It was 7 a.m. and no one was awake for me to ask for a ride, so I decided to conquer my fear of the busses and looked up the system on PATS website. To my surprise, the buses are shockingly easy to navigate/use. You pick which of the three routes you need: outskirts of campus, shuttle loop, or interior of campus. Then you locate the stop closest to you and your destination, and go to the pickup location and wait. While you wait you can go online and a Uber-like active map will show you where all of the busses are. If it's raining this means you could wait inside your building until the bus is closer to your stop. Once I boarded the bus it was clean, efficient, and I got to North Deck in no time.
I bet you're one of those "heck no I don't want to try that," types of people. Trust.Me. Just use it one time to get across campus and you'll be hooked.
Tip #2: The Campus Cut-Throughs
Okay this is an embarrassing one, but I have learned which buildings to cut through that save me walking space, or even better, hill space. The best example is CHHS. When I need to get from the Union to Prospector or the Library, you have to climb what feels like 10,000 steps. Again, this is super lazy, but you can cut through the first floor of CHHS, go to the very end of the building and get on the elevator. Hit floor 2, and it drops you at the top of those huge stairs by the SAC. You still have to walk up the hill, but it saves you those wretched stairs and if it's hot/cold/raining/any kind of weather, you're walking inside instead of outside.
You can use the same technique if you're at the very bottom of Fretwell and are headed towards Friday. You can enter on the ground floor by the coffee shop and take the elevator to the second floor. This one is more extreme, but if you can't stand inclines or hate the rain, it can be a lifesaver.
Tip #3: Be a Nice Person, Ask for Rides
Besides having a full sized bed and living with close to 30 sisters, living in my sorority house was amazing because of the free rides I hitched to classes. Whenever I was running late to the point that a 20-minute walk would kill me, I could always ask a sister to drive me right to my class. Whenever you're having a rough day or really need a ride, having a friend give you one can really lift your spirits. If you return the favor when you can, most people won't mind lending a hand.
Tip #4: Schedule Appropriately
I always schedule my classes based on two major factors: 1) where is the closest parking deck to my first and last classes, and 2) how close together are each of my classes are.
You should always pick the classes with the best professors and the best benefits for your degree. Once you get to start picking between classes for other reasons, consider the location. It's listed on every course and it can be a huge help. For example, if my first class is in Fretwell, then I try to have my last class also be in that area. That way when I come to class the walk from my car/class is not long, and the same at night. If I park at Fretwell, I would hate for my last class to be near the Union.
Tip #5: Get into Shape
Maybe one day I'll try out this magical place people call "The Gym," and get into good enough shape that I can write an article about best running spots on campus. For now I think I'll keep eating Noodles & Co. four times a week and avoiding exercise as much as possible.
If you have any tips that I missed, feel free to leave them in the comments for other students to find!
