Class starts at 9 a.m., and with a 30-minute commute, you must leave your house at 8:30. Wait — no. You have to find parking and walk to class, so technically you need to leave at 8:10. Wait, so what time do I have to leave now? As a commuter, this is my brain 24/7 the night before having to drive to school.
Whether you have a 15-minute or hour-long commute to school, you know the struggles of being a commuter. It’s the mental load of having to juggle XYZ parts of getting onto campus on top of balancing my school and social life. Here are some ways to make commuting not so bad:
DRIVING? PLAY A PODCAST
I’ve been obsessed with Emma Chamberlain’s podcast, anything goes, recently and it has literally made my hour-long commute to and from school 100x more enjoyable. Personally, I need a podcast with like a million episodes that also do not build on each other, because I want to just get in the car, throw any episode on and go about my day. Her Campus UConn’s own Emily Sharkis has a podcast, Girl Talk, which is next on my list.
SNACKS ARE YOUR BFF
Some of my favorite snacks, mainly due to their convenience, to pack for school are:
- Carrots and cukes with hummus
- Chobani smoothies
- Protein bars (Barebells and Perfect bars are my faves right now)
- Any sort of wrap (chicken caesar wrap is my preference)
- Cheese sticks or brie bites
- Some sort of trail mix
- Popcorn
Also, I cannot forget to mention, you will probably have to invest in a cute lunch bag, ice packs, and maybe Tupperware. These will be lifesavers for keeping your snacks nice and cold. Also, I have no idea where a microwave is on campus and cannot be bothered to find one. I don’t pack anything that needs to be heated up!
AN EXCUSE TO STOP AT STARBS
Grande matcha with sweet cream cold foam, please. You’re already commuting, might as well make a stop at Starbucks! Most places nowadays have mobile ordering so you can drive to campus and pick up coffee, wasting practically no time. A tip of mine is to order your coffee with extra time because some places can get busy, especially in college towns like Storrs, which can make you unexpectedly late. But, you could always leave your house early and drive to Starbucks with the intention of grabbing some coffee while studying or catching up on some work.
Make A day out of it
If you are only on campus a couple of times a week, make your money spent on gas worth it! Ask your friend to meet you at Homer B. to study, grab lunch with your bestie at Crossroads, treat yourself to some Dairy Bar after class, visit a professor’s in-person office hours, join a club and maybe they’ll have meetings the same days you have class! There are so many options to make your commute to campus not all about class and studying, but actually enjoyable.
Lastly, Give yourself extra Time
If you can, give yourself extra time for your commute. Believe me, I am the queen of never being on time for anything, so I get how hard it can be to commute and make it to class on time. Parking, walking, and traffic can all intervene with your travel time. Even though nine times out of ten, I am always late, the few times I leave with enough time I find that my day goes a bit smoother and I don’t spill my matcha latte all over me due to rushing (true story).