It’s that time of the year folks! Get out your presto cards, your car keys, your subway tokens! September is here and at York – a fundamentally commuter university – meaning the dribs and drabs of zombie-esque students will start shuffling their way onto campus from as early as five in the morning.
Myself being one of these commuter zombies since I started university in 2014, I know and feel the pain that comes with these commutes – the brisk September winds freezing the hairs on my neck every morning are a constant reminder of how far many of us Yorkies live, sometimes the commutes can be truly unbearable.
However, over the years many of us develop strategies to combat our groggy mornings and drawn-out evenings to make the commuter lifestyle a little easier.
One thing that I like to do is use the time commuting on bettering myself, I start off listening to a meditation track, I then make a list of goals/to-dos for the day and I sip some sweet peppermint tea. I also like listening to the news and weather so I that am up-to-date with global events.
This routine helped me to establish a sense of calm over myself and really sets the tone for the rest of the day – there is a certain tranquility that comes with waking at the first blush of sunlight, when the stars are still twinkling in a muted fire-hued sky and the clouds are like gossamer. I only recently started to appreciate these quiet moments and realize how important they are in our busy and often frantic lives as students!
Another, more obvious way to kill time as a commuter would be to nap! Sleep! Catch some Z’s! Snooze! The synonyms are endless for a sweet, sweet siesta of serenity. Let’s be honest, buses and trains aren’t usually the most comfortable places to sleep but hey, I am not ashamed of curling up over two seats and using my backpack as a pillow (don’t hate me.) The low rumbles of the GO buses lull me to sleep pretty quickly (sorry TTC kids). I’d love to say that I wake up refreshed, bouncy and ready to take on the world but honestly, I feel even more gross, but you know what? That’s nothing a dark roast double double can’t fix! Also, any sleep is quality sleep TBH.
I think, it is important to mention that our commutes can be used as a valuable stretch of time to study; catch up on readings, flick through flashcards and highlight those final key words! Think about it, the average commute is about one to two hours long – one way. That’s a LOT of time to catch up on little bits of studying, or one huge chunk of reading! That way, our time in school and at home won’t be used as much for catching up on another beguiling re-read of Homer’s Iliad and we can focus on other things.
All in all, commuting can be painfully annoying, but it is a necessary component of life as a student. I doubt commuting will ever get any better or any worse, so my fellow Yorkies, let’s just enjoy the ride for the next few years and I’ll see you on the 51 to York!
Image Source(s) – 1: http://brandywine.psu.edu/sites/default/files/campus/Teron_at_Bus-2.jpg
Image Source(s) – 2: http://www.landmark12.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Blog-27_TBT-tips-for-parents.jpg