POV: The Commuter
By Julianna McGahee | Staff writer
You wake up early, get ready within the comfort of your own home, and drive 30 minutes to campus. This is the life of the commuter. You can’t just wake up 10 minutes before class, throw on a sweatshirt and walk out the door, because you don’t live in the dorms. You can’t walk down the halls to see other college students during all times of the day. Instead, you just go home.
You watch the students who live in dorms stay up until 2 a.m. hanging out, and bonding over what it’s like to move away and leave their old life behind. You watch your friends from high school post their dorm room reveals, and all you can do it admire from afar. You can’t help but to feel a sense of jealousy toward those students. Those students who get to have the real “college experience”.
This was my life for the first seven months of college. My friends and I who were commuters couldn’t help but to feel as if we were missing out on something big. That as commuters, we would never get the full “college experience” and instead have to settle for something else.
The first few months of college were quiet. I woke up, drove to campus, went to class and went home right after. My friends and I would hang out on the weekends, but we never spent time doing things together on campus. It just didn’t feel like the campus was ours at the time. I felt this way for what seemed like ages until I was introduced to a student organization by the name of Campus Outreach.
My introduction to this organization changed the trajectory of my life within college. I went from feeling like I didn’t belong to this campus, from being at Augusta University “24/7” with a community that I can proudly say I am a part of.
Student organizations are a great way to get involved on campus. Here at AU, there are tons of organizations ranging from topics of religion, sports, culture and more. Everyone has their place here. It is just about finding yours.
No, I never got to experience what it was like to live in the dorms. And no, I do not live 5 minutes away from campus. But I can proudly say that I have gotten the college experience. It may not be your stereotypical one, but I have found so much joy where I am and who I am surrounded by. I am grateful for my path, because without it, I would not be where I am today.
To all my fellow commuters, you are not alone. You can have just as much of a college experience as anyone else. So go out, join a student organization. Take a leap of faith, because you never know what will happen or who you will meet that could forever change your life.
Contact Julianna McGahee at jumcgahee@augusta.edu.
