The first time I used my university’s transit service, my friend led us astray to an apartment complex in the middle of seemingly nowhere at 9 o’clock at night after our third day of classes. Looking back at the experience, I wonder how directionally challenged we were to get off the bus on the opposite side of campus, a 45-minute walk from our dorms. Defeated, we sat on the cold concrete near the bus stop as darkness fell upon us, playing “Biking” by Frank Ocean for the ambiance and hopefully to deter any kidnappers from kidnapping us (though the apartment complex was a college neighborhood filled with 21-year-olds walking their dogs peacefully, unbothered by the lost first-year students waiting to catch the next bus in fifteen minutes).
Since then, I’ve learned more about the bus system on grounds, especially as the weather turns too cold for walking. I know a lot of students who fear the college bus because of its convoluted routes or the unfamiliarity with the system in general. Still, I constantly encourage them to try the bus because I love riding it and want them to feel the same way. Only recently did I understand why I ride the bus for the fun of it and how it is beneficial for me. There are many reasons why I recommend taking the college bus even when you have nowhere to go, and I hope more people will find the beauty in public transportation while stuck on a college campus.
Bus Riding Helps Creates a MEntal Map of the area
As seen through my experience, I had yet to learn how to navigate the university when I first arrived at my college. I pretended to have a clue but realized I knew nothing when my friend and I ended up in a neighborhood outside of grounds; however, this little mishap helped me discover a shopping center accessible by bus near the apartment complex. Immediately, I took a mental note of its location and the bus I needed to ride to access the center in the future. That same weekend, I rode the bus to the shopping center to shop at Kroger because the dining hall food was…not exactly gourmet.
Riding the bus allows me to see the entirety of my school’s campus and even create a mental map of the area, which later comes in handy when I need to know how to get to the football stadium or certain academic buildings. Also, let’s admit it: after the charms of college wear off, we no longer want to stay confined to our usual walking paths. We want to explore and see something new. Riding different bus routes to analyze other scenes allows us to do just this, so when someone tells us that they really want to go shopping but are too scared to ride the bus, we can offer to guide them and end up on an adventure outside our little bubble.
Bus Riding Provides A Break
When the world is crashing down, and everything is going horribly wrong, I feel responsible and powerless simultaneously. How do I momentarily cope: riding the bus. Though we cannot pause our lives, I consider a bus ride my personal pause button. I can do nothing but sit, watch people out the window, and listen to either the engine’s hum or the music in my ear. For some reason, my problems mute, and there is only me, the bus, and the people on the bus who I likely never see in my everyday life. A bus ride clears my mind and resets my brain. On the bus, I am not a participant in the world for a moment but morph into a spectator. I stop and watch others move.
Also, when paired with a playlist and an active imagination, the bus becomes an opportunity to dissociate. Some people watch videos on the bus to take a break from their thoughts. Is it escapism? Yes, but one that ends as soon as I step out the bus doors back into reality, except now, I’m refreshed.
Bus Riding Sparks Reflection
The same friend who sat with me that dark night on the concrete near the apartment complex recently told me how she felt like life was passing her by. She told me that she spent the latter half of high school dreaming about college, and then suddenly, she’s here, and there hasn’t been a moment of peace set for reflection. She’s right. We arrive at college and are full speed ahead until Winter Break.
I want to validate her disappointment of not noticing the changing season and add my disappointment that I’ve let the joy of attending a university slip from my mind. Life never stops moving, and while it shouldn’t because progression is beneficial, we often forget to reflect on the quote-on-quote “good moments,” especially the ones we have in college.
If anyone has watched the Disney movie Soul, they’ve seen the scene where the main character realizes that he’s spent his whole life pursuing an achievement, hoping that this achievement will fulfill his life’s purpose and make him happy. However, when he finally reaches his goal, he feels empty. It is almost like a “What Now?” weight on his back. While riding the subway to his apartment, he realizes he’s always had all the tools to be happy because he is alive. He recalls the minuscule moments that brought him joy, such as sticking his feet into cold water at the beach, watching a leaf fall into his hand during autumn, or eating a delicious pizza slice.
I mention this moment in the movie because, just like the main character of Soul, I experienced this epiphany, except instead of riding the subway, I rode my college bus. The bus allows me time to recall those small, joyful moments in the week that supposedly mean nothing but change everything. For example, when I said hello to a friend in the morning, heard the wind rustling through trees, watched a dog play on the lawn, or took a warm morning shower. On the bus, as I stare out the window to admire the blue or gray sky, these moments all rush back to me, and, just for a second, the fact that I’m struggling to write a college essay or angry at a friend disappears because at least I’m alive. And if I’m alive for nothing else, I’m alive to ride the bus and watch the sky.
The Disney instrumental song from Soul during the scene mentioned earlier is called “Epiphany.” If you have time to ride the bus this week, I recommend playing the melody and staring out the window. You don’t have to expect a life-changing feeling; it is just a moment for you and a moment to view your university from a different perspective.