Why being a commuter is the best
Just kidding – it fucking sucks
When you’re low on money and Rutgers screws up your financial aid, the only thing you can do is commute. It’s affordable given all the sacrifices of being comfortable in your little apartment with a five minute walk from a bus stop. Here are the reasons why it’s the absolute best:
Our days are planned out
The minute we created our schedules, it had to fit perfectly into our busy lives, especially for those who work full-time. Some days are blocked up with classes while some aren’t. Some commuters will only spend three days per week on campus while giving themselves enough time to study the other days. We also have to figure out the perfect time to leave cause traffic is a major problem in all of New Brunswick. You can’t hit morning rush because you’ll be trapped in the Parkway or Route 1, but you can’t leave at 5 p.m. because you’ll be idle even on the Turnpike. Missing your train and having to wait another hour can ruin your day too.
You have everything you’ll ever need all the time
Yes, we’re constantly carrying luggage we drag around from Cook to Livi. You never know when we might get a headache from the constant cries of students who are “too stressed” and need to take an Advil. Since we pay for a gym membership under our tuition fees, why not work out at Werblin? Oh yeah, because we have to carry an entire other outfit and a towel to change and quickly shower post-workout. We also have some downtime to cram in our studies, requiring our baby-sized books when we can’t go to a room to call home, unless it’s Alex.
You don’t sleep
We can’t. We have to be awake in our hour long drives to school, not mentioning the hour drive back. We can’t risk sleeping in and missing lectures or quizzes. We also are incredibly responsible and study our asses off because we don’t attend as many parties as you’d imagine unless we host them or they’re closer to home. This includes all-nighters because we can’t make office hours due to other responsibilities.
Let’s also remind you all that when we do nap, we will nap anywhere possible at any moment. You may laugh at the one kid at a lounging area who is snoring and drooling, but just remember, it may be the fourth hour they may have gotten of sleep for that day.
Me on most days
Who needs to eat?
We’re so fucking responsible, we put school over our basic need of survival because let’s face it, we can’t survive unless we get the 4.0. Dining halls are out of the question unless you can afford a small meal plan. Anything on Easton and George St will make your wallet much lighter no matter what it is. We know we need caffeine and sugar but one grande latte at Starbucks is already $5.30. We can get a bagel for around a dollar but if we do that the four days we commute for every week in a month, that $16 could have been used for gas.
We know our parents may have already cooked something and used their money for it. Even if they haven’t cooked, there is something stocked for us to chew on, yet we’ll always forget to pack a lunch. Why the fuck does it matter we’re living with our parents anyways? It’s cheaper!
But who can really keep away from Starbucks?
We’re all morning and night people now
Whether you like it or not, our commute is what our lives are based around. We have to be flexible even in our rigid schedules. This means getting up at 6 a.m. to wash up, make breakfast (if you’re trying to save money), make sure we have everything for the day, and leaving our house by 7 a.m. If we don’t get trapped in traffic, we should be at school by 7:45 a.m. which gives us a good 15 minutes to get to our 8:10 a.m. class. We also have to be able to stay up and drive late at night if it’s necessary; especially on the days we decide to have “fun.”
RIP our days of being involved
I’m not saying we aren’t involved, we’re just not “highly” involved. It’s fucking impossible. Try being part of an intramural team that meets up past 9:30 p.m on Tuesdays or joining a club that always meets until 11 p.m. Our lives can’t afford those couple of hours unless it’s INCREDIBLY important.
We have family
Whether you do or don’t, you can’t avoid getting sucked into their business. You may be at school all day, but your mom will still send you texts hoping you’ll make it in time for dinner when she forgets, every week, you won’t be home until 10 p.m. Sorry mom, I do want your baked ziti, but hey, I want to be successful too.
You may have siblings to care for as well, so your schedule is definitely packed. You have to remember to take your little sister to soccer practice and help her out with math homework because apparently trigonometry is SO important. Looks like I have to get groceries too because ma and pops are incredibly busy keeping this roof over our heads and I guess my siblings need to live.
There could be a hurricane but class is still happening
I know the school does everything in it’s power to make sure the campus is safe, but if my town is flooded, there is no way in hell I could get out. Drives can be incredibly dangerous in horrid weather conditions but some days, I’d rather risk my life than missing an important day of review for class.
Let’s face it, all commuters are heroes. Who could have known we could juggle so many responsibilities? Our country still thinks we’re all little fuck-ups who don’t know any better than to “steal” our parents’ money. All in all, at least we’ll always have mama’s cooking to come home to.