Being a Commuter Makes You Smarter

A typical day for me starts the night before. I have to get my books ready and set my alarm to make sure I'm up and ready on time to get to class. When setting my alarm and planning on what time I will wake up, I have to take such factors in to account as in: the day, the time, and the weather. All three tell me how long the bus and el will take that day, and how much time I should leave myself to get to school. The weather is important because as a commuter I have learned that when it rains or snows, public transportation will run much much slower and it will take me longer to get around. From my daily transports I've learned the pace of the morning transporters and have adapted to it. Learning the ropes sounds silly, but you can always tell the people who are new to the morning commute. They're on edge and looking at everyone around them. Unsure of exits, fairs, people, stops, and so on. The neighborhoods on the commute aren't the best but it's something you learn to adapt to but also learn to be very cautious of. After I reach my destination every morning, I navigate my way through the city streets to the Drexel campus. At first I needed a map to do this, but now it's imbedded in my brain. After my classes, it's time for the commute back home. I take the el as always but then I must be careful to take the right busses. I've already taken the bus I take to work, on a day I was going straight home, and it cost me some time. I arrive at work, pick up my paycheck, and begin to figure out my budget for the week. I must make sure I leave myself enough money to get myself to and from school, money to go out and "incase money" as I like to call it. God forbid the busses are down, or there is some sort of accident. A commuter must have means to find an alternative way to get to their destination.
Being a commuter, one must be independent. I feel as though our independence makes us grow so much as a person and ultimately makes us smarter. I see so many different types of people during my transport everyday and feel more cultured in the process. When we learn from others, we grow as people. I've learned to "mesh" with the morning commuters by being around them every morning. Johnson talks about his views on video games. He believes games like Grand Theft Auto do make us smarter because they don't give us one set path. They let us roam around, find our way, and figure out what it is that we're supposed to do on our own. Thats exactly what a commuter goes through on a daily basis. It's that dependence on our self to get us where we need to be and to do what we need to do thats makes us learn.