It would be nice if I could roll out of bed 15 minutes before
class starts and walk to campus. It would be nice if I could crawl
home, disoriented, after a night about town in Westwood.
But alas, I commute, and these are a few of the things I
don’t have the pleasure of doing.
So understandably, the response I’ve heard most often to
the statement that I commute is: “That sucks.”
The “suck”-value of commuting will vary from person
to person, and personally, I would say commuting sucks very much
indeed.
First of all, having to spend a roundtrip stretch of
approximately two hours of my day on the freeway, in traffic no
less, is terrible. And once I finally arrive at UCLA, there is the
hassle of trying to get parking. I might try to get a parking
permit, but that is generally regarded as hopeless, unless I was
carpooling or have an off-campus job. So how do I deal with parking
at UCLA?
I don’t. I take public transportation.
I know that sounds about as appealing as getting a root canal,
but it’s not too bad. Some lines, like the Commuter Express,
intended for long-distance commuting between places like Westwood
and the San Fernando Valley, will save you money, keep your poor
car from piling up on its mileage, and provide a great place to
meet people.
OK, I made that last bit up.
Personally, I always have something to read, like a book or this
trusty piece of student journalism so as to avoid extended contact
with other patrons of Los Angeles public transportation.
The most frustrating part of commuter life is the difficulty of
meeting people. Since I never lived in the dorms, I never had the
easy opportunity that most freshmen have to meet other freshmen. It
can make me feel isolated and cut off from the scene.
As a commuter, I have to make an extra effort to get to know
others. It involves actively introducing myself in lectures and
discussion sections.
Unfortunately, I’m not a sugary, cheery type, so it was
difficult to meet people during class. And it is a bit awkward
to stick out my hand and introduce myself to 300 people when the
professor is lecturing.
As a result, I found discussion sections to be the best place to
strike up a conversation. It’s a more intimate setting among
fewer people, so you don’t seem weird if you just start
talking to someone sitting next to you. And since you will see
these people in your discussion for the next ten weeks, it’s
actually hard not to make a few good acquaintances, and maybe even
some friends.
However, if you want to make friends with someone in class,
you’d better do it fast because UCLA is on a quarter system.
What can often happen is just when you finally get a good
conversation going, in which you say something more personal than
“Hi, how was your weekend?”, the quarter ends and you
don’t see that person again.
For those not planning on attending class much, you can always
join clubs that interest you. That way, you automatically know you
have something in common with someone, and it will be easier to
relate to each other.
There are clubs for most ethnic groups on campus, even for those
wacky pre-med types, like me. And then there are student media
organizations you can join if you’re interested in journalism
or just want some experience. At any rate, even at this vastly
large institution, you should be able to find a niche to call your
home away from home.
With all these negative things about commuting, are there
any good parts to it? There are the usual things, like saving money
that would otherwise be spent on exorbitant housing or Westwood
apartment fees. And there are fewer social distractions living away
from campus, providing more time to study for that midterm. Also, I
don’t have the hassle of having to move my stuff from my
house to my dorm room and back every nine months.Â
So yes, commuting can suck for the most part; but at least
I’ll always have a good excuse for showing up late to
class.