If you are like me, then you get up bright and early every day, get ready, sometimes miss breakfast because you might be late and make your way to school. There’s a special word we call ourselves: commuters. After a long day at school, we either go home or go to work. Sometimes we miss the fun events on campus because we don’t have time or are too tired. Does this mean our college “experience” is invalid? Of course not. College is what you make out of it.
Missing events is not a bad thing, but it doesn’t hurt to make time to stop by one. I think, with all of our hustle and bustle, we need to take time to relax every now and then. I know it can be stressful to be going back and forth between school, home and work, but events are a great way to meet other students and make friends.
You are in charge of your own college experience. Not everyone has the same personality or enjoys doing the same things, so choose how you want to spend your time at college. If you want to spend it on campus just doing your courses and then leaving and finding solace elsewhere, do that. It’s your choice. Don’t let anyone force you to do anything you don’t want to do. However, keep an open mind to attending events. You might be surprised at how fun they are.
Another problem with feeling that your experience is invalid is feeling like your voice goes unheard. There are thousands of students that attend NSU. That is an intimidating number, especially to us shy folks. Therefore, it might feel like our thoughts or concerns can’t be heard. Well, you can voice your concerns or compliments to President Hanbury directly. How? By attending Town Hall meetings throughout the year. It’s a great way for students to express their ideas for a better school experience.
Aside from keeping an open mind about on-campus events, there are a lot of resources available on campus as well. If you’re into fitness, we have a gym. If you’re into fitting a burger in your mouth, we have food. We even have a swimming pool, basketball court and ping pong tables. We also have a commuter lounge located in the Student Affairs Building, in room 105. All these resources are at walking distance from our classes. One thing we commuters try to limit is driving. It really can be annoying to have to drive for too long. Look into everything you can do on campus instead of having to go to too many places. Make your experience what you want and make it as efficient and fun as possible.
