I decided to commute to school instead of living in the dorms my freshman year. I quickly learned that saving money may be nice, but filling my gas tank once a week is not. However, the entertaining people I pass every day usually make up for it.
I found out many things about myself and others while commuting:
#1: I am running late 95% of the time which means the ultimate collegiette sin: Skipping breakfast. Who knew that a tiny packet of oatmeal could get you through three classes without the professor stopping his lecture to ask if your stomach is alright? Moral of the story is; wake up 5 minutes earlier and eat breakfast. Don’t eat in your car. People will give you really really weird looks.
#2: Stuck behind the soccer Mom cars and you realize fast they drive with a purpose. Here are some hints to pick the mom cars out from the rest. See decals. These are the cars with the bumper stickers that boast, “I’m proud of my [fill in some super notable achievement such as ‘My shining star!’ or ‘Student of the month!’ here]” They are the ones with the whole family tree displayed on the back window and a perfectly coiffed Mom behind the wheel.
#3: Men in suits are mostly oblivious to the outside world. Now I’m talking about nose picking, belting out Adele, and drum solos on the steering wheel. These drivers will be holding you up in traffic with their fancy, perfect cars, and will hold you up with their right lane coffee stops. These cars are freshly washed, lacking stickers, and most likely going 10 below the speed limit. Once you identify this vehicle, change lanes.
#4: We call them “Grandma Cars.” The drivers are either 16 or 95 years old, driving older model cars. These guys don’t know what the term ‘acceleration’ means. They are the ones that got to the bottom of the hill before you, and are still there once you reach the top. But is that the car or the driver’s fault? As adorable as they are, I gotta get to class… or coffee.
My New Year’s Resolution was to not hit the snooze anymore, but look at what I would have missed out on if I hadn’t!