Hello everyone! Welcome back to “Campus Suggestions,” where I talk about my opinions about our campus and try to convince you to feel the same way that I do (or at least attempt to do so).

In this article, I will be discussing the highs and lows of being a commuter on campus. Now, obviously everyone that is a commuter has their own opinions on this topic, but I’m here to say it’s not that bad. Before I begin, I know you’re asking why I am speaking out about this, and to that I say because I’m a commuter silly! I’ve been driving 15 minutes to and from campus every day for the last year and a half now, so I feel like I’m qualified enough to talk about this.

For starters, let’s get the elephant out of the room here. We are saving a ton of money. Since we aren’t living directly on campus and need a meal plan for every meal, our tuition bill doesn’t make us wince every time it’s time for us to pay for each semester. Even though we don’t have dining or flex dollars, we do have the ability to have a commuter meal plan that we can use for meals for those long days on campus (which is pretty much everyday, to be honest). So it’s nice to have an option even if we can all mutually agree that the food is just OK.

Speaking of food, we are able to eat meals at our own houses! I always hear people say that they “miss their moms cooking,” and that “all they want is a home cooked meal.” Well, guess what? My mom makes me that every night, since I see her everyday for dinner of course. In all seriousness though, it is nice to be able to eat my own food and have control over what I choose to eat each day.

Another pro of mine that I want to talk about is more of a personal one. If you are like me, moving away to college was an incredibly hard thing to imagine, especially since I am so close with my family. When I was picking schools out to look at, I was terrified of moving away to colleges that were only 45 minutes away, let alone a few hours. Therefore, the fact that I am able to get my education, pursue amazing opportunities, love where I go and also only live 15 minutes away from campus is a huge blessing in my book.

While I do acknowledge that there are some cons to being a commuter, it really isn’t that bad. If you want to know the worst part of being a commuter, it is the constant fear of missing out. at being said, I always feel like I am missing out on the “college experience,” since I am not rooming here at Wilkes. I will admit, I do not have this fear as bad as I’m sure many people do, due to the fact that I feel that I am very involved on campus.

Also, I like to think that since I am here all the time and I practically live in my friends dorms, I am an honorary resident of University Towers the way it is. That being said, if it wasn’t for them, I think I would probably go crazy thinking about all the crazy stuff happening without me there.

While there are other disadvantages about not being a commuter like not having anywhere to go in between classes, needing to wake up extra early in the morning to get ready and drive and having to deal with snow during the winter, it could be worse.

At the end of the day, we get to have a different college experience, and if commuting works for you, that’s great. If you prefer to live on campus, that’s also great. If you are really feeling bold, why not do both?