Why commute? More specifically why do people commute? In a general sense, it’s because people need to get back and forth from some place whether it be work or school. If they didn’t commute then they would just be stuck in one place. In my publication, I’m focusing on college commuters.
So to reiterate, why do college students commute? There are many different reasons towards this question. Some commute because they live close by. Some commute because they prefer living off campus. Some also commute because they don’t have the money to live on campus. And some well… just don’t have a choice. I’m sure there are other reasons my fellow commuters could come up with as to why we commute. Personally, I commute because I only live 25 minutes away from my campus. I would rather save the money I could spend on a dorm and put it towards other things such as school tuition or gas money.
Even though commuting is a choice just like living on campus is, it seems that my choice gets more of a stigma around it; why is that? Why is living off-campus so bad, or is it? Is living off campus really that different compared to people who live on campus? In some ways the answers to these questions can go both ways.
I am a college student just like everyone else, I just have to drive into school. I probably go through very similar things that everyone else has to do, such as eating meals everyday, but there may be some differences between us too. My point is, there is more to us than being just a commuter. Sure we may drive because we don’t have the money in some cases, but there is way more to us that people need to explore; if only they gave us the chance.
If more people took the time to understand our side of things, a commuter’s point of view, then maybe people would just see us a students and not just commuters. Instead of people saying, “Oh you’re a commuter,” maybe they should ask, “Why do you commute,” and then continue to explore who we are, what we go through, our ups and downs, our passions, etc. and maybe they will see that we have more in common than they thought.
Committing to the Commute 