Sh*t Commuters Say

Where are my college commuters at? If you’re a commuter student, this article’s for you! Here are the shi*t that we commuters say on a regular basis when traffic, public transportation, nonsympathic resident students, etc, happen to make our days a little more difficult than neccessary. 

1. What’s the big deal about 8am classes? I’ve done it my entire life.

When you’ve been starting school at 8am for as long as you’ve been going to school, taking that 8am creative writing class will be cake, right? WRONG. College is a totally different ballgame when it comes to morning classes. The classes are longer, more boring, and you’re most likely 10x more tired from the heaps of work that you stayed up the night before doing. Plus, as a commuter, that involves waking up at 5:30am to get ready, eating breakfast (if you manage to even have time for that), and actually getting yourself to school. Do yourself a favor and unless you’re all chirpy in the mornings, avoid 8ams at all costs.

2. How do I make friends around here?

Resident students seem to have the social life of college down, because…well, they’re kind of forced to. They’re thrown into a room with a complete stranger (or sometimes two) for an entire year (hello new best friend/sister from another mister!). Soon, their entire floor or residence hall becomes their second family. We actually have to weed out everyone on the first day (or year) of college in order to determine our BFFs for the next four years. In order to make yourselves feel better about this social situation, fellow commuters, consider watching The Roommate starring Leighton Meester.

3. Basketball game? …But I have a date with my bed.

Unless you’re the campus social butterfly, most commuters tend to be a little bit more out of the loop when it comes to school events and activities because after a long day of commuting to school and classes, the number one priority running through our minds is that we want to be back in bed…after that hour commute back home, of course. So yeah, maybe we do lack a little bit of school spirit and sometimes, it may come off as if we don’t even go here. I swear, we do. We just don’t live here (literally). Try to resist the urge of dashing straight home after your classes in order to explore what your campus may have to offer, whether it be the gym, sporting events, clubs, movie nights, or even attend your school’s Her Campus chapter meetings (hint, hint). You’ll meet people that you may have never run into otherwise.

4. Thanks -insert professor or school’s name here- for notifying me that my morning class was canceled AFTER I got to campus.

It happens to the best of us. We drag ourselves out of bed at 6 in the morning, bundle up in a gajillion (let’s just pretend like this is a real number) layers, take three trains in the snow to get to campus, and RIGHT as we’re getting off the train that’s ten minutes away from school, our cell phones buzz and public safety is notifying us that campus is officially closed. Here’s to taking three trains back home while ranting to just about every brave soul who dares to text us, “yaaas, school’s closed!” You would think that I’m making this up, but nope. Been there, done that, and I’m still completely bitter over that “snow day” last semester.

5. I’m just going to eat/nap in my car now.

We’ve all either done it or walked through the parking lot and witnessed someone else do it. Due to not knowing anybody during the first few days (or weeks, months, etc) of school, commuters can get tempted in falling to the trap of being a total loner and restricting themselves to the confinements of their car. Don’t do it! There are bound to be other people eating alone too. Introduce yourself to someone who looks remotely approachable and you may not only make a new friend, but you’ll also be helping out another fellow lonely commuter. As for taking power naps… just know that we all can see you, drool included.

There you have it: some of the most common shi*t that commuters say, also known as #commuterstruggles. How many of these have you witnessed or been able to relate to? Just a little tip to my fellow commuters: don’t let commuting pull you into a rut that ruins your college experience. The friends and opportunities are out there; you just have to find and utilize them! After all, what you put into college is exactly what you get out of it.