Transportation for All, and All for Transportation!
In September, my car died.
Don't worry, I didn't really tell anyone. I figured it would happen at some point, but I spent the last 5 months of graduate school, without a car. I wouldn't have made it through without countless rides from previous roommates, boyfriend, coworkers, you name it. But for the most part, I took the bus. Or zipcar.
I love zipcar.
Riding the bus is hard for me because it forces me to be on someone elses's time schedule. I'm super independent and I sometimes pride myself on my efficiency - so learning to still be efficient and involved when I was on a bus time table took some getting used to. I think I had it down about two weeks before I left (kidding, probably early November is more accurate). I had to swallow a lot of pride, asking for rides, changing my schedule, sometimes leaving earlier than I wanted to, or having to stay later than I wanted to because of my loss of independence. But as with any trying experience, there involved a lot of growth. I am much better acquainted with bus systems - which will come in handy when I move to a very metropolitan city.
I do have to relate a few experiences from my re-acquaintance with the bus system of michigan:
1) It's cold. There is a lot of waiting outside. I learned to bundle up and take an ipod to listed to podcasts or learn a language or something. Also, keeping a book around for the ride itself was critical.
2) There are a wide variety of citizens on the bus. Almost once a week a whole gaggle of preschoolers would ride the bus. They were fun to listen to with their dangling feet and chatter about being best friends and playing with toys. Every day there were Military Veterans on the bus. These were going to and from the VA hospital, and I knew that they were extremely experienced in life and sometimes that juxtaposition would be ironic to me. And besides the rest being students or professionals, there were elderly folks on the bus. I remember one instance that an elderly woman in a wheelchair needed to get off the bus and a few other people went out of the way to safely assist her. This happened between different people on more than one occasion.
3) Every now and then riding the bus reaffirmed my faith in people and served as a personal reminder to not judge. It was good for me to have these reminders. My day was often happier when my bus ride proved to provoke a little inspiration.
From my car's death, I realized that with just a bit more effort, I was fine taking public transportation. I and others joke that I'm not truly a "real" person without a car, but I'm adjusting. I'm hoping to still be an advocate for public transportation and more mindful car usage in my future life.
Don't worry, I didn't really tell anyone. I figured it would happen at some point, but I spent the last 5 months of graduate school, without a car. I wouldn't have made it through without countless rides from previous roommates, boyfriend, coworkers, you name it. But for the most part, I took the bus. Or zipcar.
I love zipcar.
Riding the bus is hard for me because it forces me to be on someone elses's time schedule. I'm super independent and I sometimes pride myself on my efficiency - so learning to still be efficient and involved when I was on a bus time table took some getting used to. I think I had it down about two weeks before I left (kidding, probably early November is more accurate). I had to swallow a lot of pride, asking for rides, changing my schedule, sometimes leaving earlier than I wanted to, or having to stay later than I wanted to because of my loss of independence. But as with any trying experience, there involved a lot of growth. I am much better acquainted with bus systems - which will come in handy when I move to a very metropolitan city.
I do have to relate a few experiences from my re-acquaintance with the bus system of michigan:
1) It's cold. There is a lot of waiting outside. I learned to bundle up and take an ipod to listed to podcasts or learn a language or something. Also, keeping a book around for the ride itself was critical.
2) There are a wide variety of citizens on the bus. Almost once a week a whole gaggle of preschoolers would ride the bus. They were fun to listen to with their dangling feet and chatter about being best friends and playing with toys. Every day there were Military Veterans on the bus. These were going to and from the VA hospital, and I knew that they were extremely experienced in life and sometimes that juxtaposition would be ironic to me. And besides the rest being students or professionals, there were elderly folks on the bus. I remember one instance that an elderly woman in a wheelchair needed to get off the bus and a few other people went out of the way to safely assist her. This happened between different people on more than one occasion.
3) Every now and then riding the bus reaffirmed my faith in people and served as a personal reminder to not judge. It was good for me to have these reminders. My day was often happier when my bus ride proved to provoke a little inspiration.
From my car's death, I realized that with just a bit more effort, I was fine taking public transportation. I and others joke that I'm not truly a "real" person without a car, but I'm adjusting. I'm hoping to still be an advocate for public transportation and more mindful car usage in my future life.
Comments