Transitioning from the realm of high school to the big scary and unknown world of college is something that many freshman worry about. “How will I make friends?” “Am I going to be able to handle all my classes?” “What if I don’t like it?” These are all questions that every freshman, including myself, has asked at some point. But unlike most of my other classmates freshman year I worried a little more about the transition because I was a commuter. After living on campus for my fall semester of freshman year and being too homesick to enjoy it, I decided to try commuting my spring semester. Suddenly my biggest concern was how I could make friends when everyone else lived at school. They ate together, hung out in the dorms together, and all went out to parties together, and here I was going to be eating, sleeping, and living at home. Despite all my biggest worries, commuting turned out to be exactly what I needed.
As a commuter and a girl, my biggest concern was that I wouldn’t be able to make friends or rush a sorority because for the most part, I would leave straight after class to go home. I couldn’t have been any more wrong, however. I quickly discovered that you can most certainly rush for a sorority even though you commute. So through rounds I commuted every day from home to school and eventually got a bid! From there on, not making friends was no longer an issue. I gained tons of new friends and even sisters and if I had let commuting stopped me from doing that, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today. I eventually got a Big who, like me, was a commuter, proving that the distance between your house and campus won’t stop you from having fun.
Just because I was a commuter didn’t stop me from going out. After I had gained new friends, I was lucky enough that they always offered me a place to sleep after parties. Too many times I debated going out simply because I didn’t want to drive and pay for an overnight parking pass, but I’m extremely glad that I did go because otherwise I would’ve missed out on so much. There will be times where you will be tired of driving back and forth, but in the long run it is a short amount of time spent in the car for memories with your friends that will last a lifetime. Never be afraid that you won’t be able to party as a commuter -- as long as you have great friends and a place to stay, going out will not be an issue.
One of the most important things about commuting however, is the ability to still focus on school work. Don’t get me wrong, having to get up an hour earlier than when class starts to commute instead of just rolling out of bed five minutes before and walking across campus will be a bit of a pain in the ass, but you will get used to it. There are ways around getting up early, too, like picking later classes. Ultimately, I found it easier to study at home without the commotion of campus events distracting me. I had more time to study, got better sleep since I no longer had to sleep on a dorm sized bed with a mattress that felt like it was made of rocks, and ultimately I did better in all my classes.
Saving a ton of money from withdrawing from housing was definitely worth the commute as well. I was able to get a job with all the spare time I had which, while living at school, was spent sitting around in my dorm watching Netflix. It was like I got the best of both worlds. I got to see my family everyday as well as my friends and sisters. I believe there is a stigma that surrounds commuting, one which is completely false. No one should be too afraid to commute because they think it will ruin their college experience. Living at school isn’t much of a difference. You can still get the college experience by driving to campus every day instead of waking up on it.
