If I haven’t mentioned already, I’m a commuter. In actuality, I spend more time commuting to work on the weekends than I do commuting to school during the week,  but I still don’t fail to notice some of the faux-pas people are committing while on transit. So, I decided to write this post as a little friendly reminder of what to do (and not do) during your daily commute.

Here’s my list:

1. DO listen to music on the bus. It keeps you in a good mood!

2. DON’T listen to your music so loud that by the end of my trip I know all the words to Lamb of God’s Sacrament album.

3. DO offer your seat to the handicapped and elderly! What goes around comes around, don’t play to the bad karma!

4. DON’T forget that if a child gets on the bus, you should offer your seat to them, too. The other day on the SkyTrain I saw a mother who had to crouch down and hold onto her five-year-old to keep him from falling over. Not acceptable!

5. DO catch up on your reading on your trip! If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my first few weeks at UBC, it’s that there’s never a bad time to study.

6. DON’T take out your textbook, the novel you’re currently reading, your laptop and your notebook. I don’t want to have to read about trigonometric identities just because your stuff spills onto my lap. Please limit it to one study material at a time.

7. DO take transit when it’s raining! Even if you don’t live far from your destination, make good use of your UPass and take the bus. You only get this awesome deal for the next few years, then you have to shell out the big bucks for transit fare.

8. DON’T put your wet umbrella on the seat next to you so that no one can sit there for the next 3 hours. Thanks, I don’t want to look like I’ve wet myself because you can’t put your umbrella on the floor. Also, DON’T stand in the doorway while exiting to open your umbrella. People are in a rush. You won’t melt if you stand in the rain for 3 seconds to open your umbrella after you’re off the bus.

9. DO take express buses like the 99 B-Line. They run often and get you where you need to be fast.

10. DON’T push your way onto the bus, especially express ones. Lots of people take these lines, and the truth is if your trip is longer than 10 minutes, you’ll likely get to sit down at some point before you reach your destination. Same goes for the SkyTrain – there’s a sign right on the door that says ‘Allow others to exit before boarding.’ Follow the rules and everyone is happy.

Thus concludes the main points of my list, although I’m sure we can all think of a few other pointers to add in!

In my first point, I said that listening to music on your trip can make the time much more enjoyable. So I created a little playlist on 8tracks (those of you who haven’t heard of this site need to check it out, like ASAP). Dubbed ‘in transit,’ my playlist is a bit of a play on words and includes songs with themes of going through change and thinking about the past (but all in a happy-bubblegum-early morning-wake up kinda way!)

Here is where you can find the playlist, and here is the track list:

All In  – Lifehouse

Brand New Day – Ryan Star

One Foot – fun.

Move Along – The All-American Rejects

This Isn’t Goodbye, It’s BRB – We Are The In Crowd

Weightless – All Time Low

Carry On – Hedley

Make It Up As You Go – Plain White T’s

The Remedy (I Won’t Worry) – Jason Mraz

Happy listening and happy commuting!

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Well, here I am. Finally! I think I’m almost settled in to my new life as a university student. Finally!

Why ‘finally’ you say? Unlike most first-year students, I haven’t just graduated high school. In fact, I took not one, but two years off, and I certainly wasn’t planning to! I’ve always loved school, from the very first day I walked into kindergarten, to the last moments I spent in the halls of my high school. If you were to ask me at any point from Grade 1 to Grade 11 I would’ve been able to tell you exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. Then Grade 12 came, and there I was, pretty much grown up and…I had no idea what I want to do or become, and time was running out for me to decide! Or so I thought.

One thing I was sure of that time was that I wanted to leave my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. It wasn’t that I had any dislike for the city, I just knew that I needed a change. Graduation came, and a month later I was living in Victoria, BC. By this point, I knew I was going to take a year off. No biggie, I thought! I’ll work and earn some good money and I’ll be completely set to go to school next fall. October came and I was already wishing I was back in school, thinking that nursing was the option for me. Turns out the school I applied to in Victoria wasn’t able to accept me until the next next fall. Oh well, I said. I’ll keep working.

January came and I no longer wanted to be a nurse. So I applied to a different university for a science program. I was accepted and ready to go. Then, in true young adult/self-discovery fashion, I had to get out of Victoria. The small city environment was just not a good fit for adventurous me. Vancouver was calling me; anytime I had visited I felt like I was home. So I set my sights on the big city and applied to UBC. This was gonna be my time! I had a good feeling in my gut. (In case you didn’t know, I’m a firm believer in following my gut and I have to say I have a pretty good gut instinct). But…I didn’t want to study science anymore. I tapped into my heart (also an important organ to listen to) and remembered what I’ve always enjoyed learning the most. I applied to the UBC Faculty of Arts, heard back shortly and after a few months of I’m going-I’m not going-I’m going (long story, you can ask me if you want to hear it) I arrived in Vancouver! So here I am, a prospective French/Linguistics major, thoroughly enjoying my first couple weeks here at UBC.

But why have I told you this long (and hopefully not boring) story? I know a lot of people graduating high school think that they have an obligation to go to school right away and know exactly what they want to study. If any of those unsure people were to ask me my opinion, I would say, ‘You know what? Do yourself a favour and take some time off.’ It doesn’t have to be a full year, and it doesn’t have to be limited to just one year! Go out and live. Move away from home, get a new job, travel to an exotic place. Meet new people, have fun, and discover more about yourself. There was a point during my time off when I was feeling pretty down on myself for not being in school when it seemed like all of my friends were leading these amazing academic lifestyles. My mom had an incredibly eye-opening conversation with me that day. ‘Michaela,’ she said, “in the past two years I’ve seen you grow more than you ever have in your lifetime. You’ve had experiences in the real world that your friends haven’t, you’ve met different kinds of people than you normally do, and you’ve learned lessons that will stay with you for life. Be proud of that.’ As always, mom knows best. I can now fondly look back on those years and feel ready. I don’t feel like those years were wasted, in fact, I feel like they were put to good use.

So now I’m here. In the words of All Time Low (one of my favorite bands):

I’ll be the new kid on an old block...I’m just a moment so don’t let me pass you by. 

I’ve gone where many others have gone before. Sure, I’m new but I’m excited to meet and learn from others who have come before me. Although four years seem like a really long time to be here, I know it’ll be over in a moment so I’m going to take what I’ve learned in the past two years and make the most of my time at UBC!

Thus, I leave you with a tune:

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