All About Commuting!

What better way to recover from the typical post-holiday blues than by resuming my blog, this week in which I tell you all about my trip to the USA.

Yes, I am back in the UK having spent such an amazing time in Chicago and Springfield (unfortunately I did not see Homer or Bart). It was surreal to finally experience a proper heat wave unlike the meager few sunny spells that England has to offer. Besides, from learning all about Abraham Lincoln to spending a week indulging on peanut butter jelly sandwiches and root beer, this has truly been one of the best weeks of my life!

Leaving that aside, it is now time to plunge back into reality considering that it is well into September and not long until University commences. For many students this is a warning call to make sure that they have sorted out their accommodation, checked that they have packed all essential belongings and that their anxious mothers have packed enough frozen meals to feed a country.

On the other hand, for others, including myself it means to make sure that I obtain my seasonal train ticket!

As you have probably gathered from my previous posts, I am a commuting student. This simply means that instead of living in student accommodation or in private accommodation, I live at home. In my first blog post, I mentioned about how nervous I felt before starting University regarding the prospect of commuting. However, I have also argued that there is no ‘normal’ student experience and that your University life is what you make of it.

Nevertheless, whether you stay at home or in halls, life will always be what you make of it and the fact that you commute must not affect your perception of what a university experience is. Further on in this blog post, I will attempt to delve a little deeper into what it is like to be a commuting student and be more than happy to answer the various common questions that I often receive about commuting.

Will I make friends?

When I started commuting, I will admit I was worried. You often hear that the strongest friendships you will make are with the people you lived in halls with in your first year. This, may be true for some people, but is not the rule for everyone. You can make plenty of strong friendships with people, even if you have not stayed in halls. I have some friends who live at home and some friends who live in halls and I have brilliant friendships with them.

I feel, at University, because there is so much you can do and be involved in (Sports, Societies, Jobs etc.), there are so many ways that you will find someone who shares similar interests with you and could spark a friendship.

Here is a link to the University of Leicester’s society page that you can have a look at! http://leicesterunion.com/groups#club-society

Is it just as good when commuting – do you miss out on anything?

On one hand, I will admit, no. For example, when you live at home (and similar to my situation – you are a train stop away from your University) you cannot do the spontaneous things that most students do such as meeting up with each other in their room for a late movie night or going to another hall to meet a new friend you made.

Nevertheless, despite my first worries and concerns, I now feel that commuting gives me the best of both worlds. Indeed my life has to be a little more organized and structured (is that a bad thing?) but I don’t feel that I miss out on anything at all. I always have the opportunity to see my friends when I am at University, I get to plan to go out with them (whether it be going to the cinema, nights out, bowling etc.) and do the normal student things with them. I just have to plan them in.

Furthermore, when studying law, being organized is a good skill to have. I feel by staying at home, I have my ‘fun’ at University but when I return home, it allows me separation and fewer distractions to get all my work done, therefore, when it comes to planning a night out the next day, I am able to do that with ease.

One thing that should be retained in the mind is that if you are a commuter and you are struggling, you are not alone. There are plenty of other people that you can speak to and seek advice from. The Student Welfare services are exceptionally useful, and I urge anyone who has any concerns to get in contact with them. Here is the link to their website: http://www2.le.ac.uk/students/studying/health-and-welfare

Overall, commuting is not as scary as it seems. It just depends on the type of person that you are. I cannot claim that commuting suits everyone but it definitely is the perfect option for me!

I hope that I have answered some of the questions which were on your mind about commuting. If you have any more questions or feel that I didn’t answer something, please feel free to comment below and I will get back to you.