A classic George Mason University Admissions Office line is, “Mason’s prime location in Fairfax, Virginia, gives you the best of both worlds. You can intern in D.C….” blah blah blah. I mean that’s why I came to GMU, as a government major, I wanted to be close to D.C. but not pay an arm and two legs for a private city school. But I would say characterizing GMU as a D.C. school is a bit of a stretch. However, commuting into the city is still manageable, it just takes time, money and patience. Three things college students often lack.
Piece of advice: plan your internship semesters with your friends. Riding the metro with someone else usually makes the time go faster and resting your head on the shoulder of someone you know on those sleepy mornings is much better than accidentally doing so on a stranger!Via Giphy
1. “Please have enough money on this Metro card”
Commuting from Fairfax to D.C. is essentially selling your soul to WMATA, especially when you are working an unpaid internship (which are most internships in D.C.). GMU students interning at Capitol Hill usually work 3 days a week, and the cost round-trip from Vienna to Capitol South during peak hours is $12, meaning we pay $144 per month to get to our unpaid internships. My bank account cried every time I approached the card refill machines.Via Giphy
2. “Should I force myself into that beyond crowded car or wait for the next one?”
3. “Hold on, did I get on the right train?”
Have you ever rushed down the escalator and into a train without first checking what train it was? Or maybe your train is “arriving” as per the upstairs message board but after running down the stairs and onto the train you hear, “Step back, doors closing… This is a blue line train…” and then you want to die.Via Giphy
4. “How badly do I really want to sit down?”
Picture this: it’s 5pm, you’ve been wearing heels all day, your feet are killing you and all you want to do is sit down. You see an empty seat *sigh of relief* except as you approach you see a dirty/smelly/weird person and you realize why it’s empty. Just how badly do your feet hurt now?Via Giphy
5. “Damn girl where did you get that outfit?!”
People-watching on the commute is a great way to get style inspiration for work attire from casual to business professional. At least once a day I see a woman with the nicest outfit and I desperately want to ask her all about it, but you know, that may be a little weird. So instead I’m left wondering if I’ll ever be able to afford my own Olivia Pope inspired coat or bag.
6. “Did they get dressed in the dark?”
And on the opposite side of the fashion spectrum, there are always those few people who have you wondering, “What were they thinking with that outfit?” Do you ever just want to offer help to people with clashing outfits? Because I do.
7. “Oh. My. God. What is he doing???”
Last week, while on the metro, the guy sitting in front of me was holding his phone at an angle that I could see his screen from behind him. He was scrolling through an article and came across a perfume ad featuring a woman with hardly any clothes on holding the perfume. He clicked on the picture and zoomed in examining every inch of her body! I couldn’t believe it! I laughed out loud, but then, of course, my brain switched on and I cringed and wanted to shout, “WTF MAN?!” Of course this is just one of many examples… like come on, what’s with the one guy always picking his nose on the metro??
And there you have it folks. Thank you for riding with us today. We hope to see you again soon.