My first year of college, I went to a private school and lived in a dorm. This had many positive aspects. For one, it was convenient to get anywhere and if I was doing homework in my dorm room I could easily get to my instructor’s office across campus. It was also convenient to hang out with friends and have a healthy social life.
Commuting has many of the benefits of living on campus.
At FRCC I still enjoy the convenience of being on campus. I do homework in the student center so that I can still talk to my instructors during office hours when I need to and I have many friends that I see while I’m there.
It also offers an unexpected bonus. I do not have to be at school constantly when I live off campus. I get the opportunity to rent my own place, and I have friends who save money while in school by living with their family. When I go to the school, I choose to be there when I want to be.
Living on campus has its drawbacks.
When I lived on campus, my grades were lower than they are now while I am commuting. Even though it was convenient to hang out with friends, this also hindered some of my homework time. Someone could walk into my room at any time and ask me to go out to dinner or to watch a movie for girls’ night. This was good, except it happened almost every night, and it became hard to focus on doing well in school.
I’m more efficient with my homework at home.
When I go home, it is easy for me to have uninterrupted homework time when I need to get something done. My homework gets done faster, and then I have more time to go have fun or to relax.
When not living on campus, it takes more effort to be involved on campus, but it makes the experience that much better. I know other commuters, who, like me, genuinely want to be in class to learn and get good grades.
I choose to be on campus and in class more.
Commuting is a more active involvement in school. Rather than waking up and being able to walk to class in five minutes, as a commuter I take the extra time to wake up, get ready and drive 15 minutes to get to class. Some people even take more time to take the bus or commute from farther distances. Seeing this effort in my classmates is something I could not have experienced living in the dorms.
Commuting has taught me how to be more responsible.
I have gotten a chance to grow up and learn how to live on my own and deal with more responsibility. For example, I started paying my own rent and bills. To do this, I learned how to balance household chores, work, and school and have found an enjoyment out of this accomplishment.
Next year I am transferring to CU Denver and will remain a commuter. I chose CU Denver because there are many other commuters like me and I hope to continue with the same experiences I have gotten through my attendance at FRCC.
What has commuting been like for you?
