The main thing college students account for when deciding whether to commute or dorm is simple: the drive. Some students’ drive to campus would simply be impossible to do every day since they live out of state. Other students’ commutes may be a bit more tolerable since they may live only 10 to 15 minutes away from campus. For me, the 30-minute commute from Duryea is fine, but for some it may be a dealbreaker.

I don’t mind my drive to school. A half hour drive isn’t ideal every day, but the drive isn’t very stressful. It’s pretty much all back roads and the only thing I need to watch for is deer. Driving past a huge cemetery every day is a bit sad, but once I got used to the scenery, it became normal.

One issue that comes to mind immediately is gas. Obviously, the price of gas will always be a hot topic, but it is something to consider at when commuting to college every day.

Some students may burn through gas easily after taking into account their drive to college, a job, or other places they need to be. For me, I only need to fill up my gas tank every two weeks, but that’s because I don’t drive very much outside of classes and, when I do, I’m not very far from my friends’ houses.

Something else I look at as a commuter with a 30-minute drive is choosing classes. I’d like to get my classes done as early as possible to be able to account for the drive and other assignments I might have due later in the day. Sadly, schedules do not always work that way.

During my first semester, my two Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes were separated by about five hours, so I drove home and then back to school for my second class. It was weird making the same drive four times a day for three days a week, but I decided that would be what I wanted to do.

Something that’s been an issue for me is a thing that might not always cross everyone’s mind while driving – car maintenance. On many occasions, I hear a noise, look at my dashboard and see a light.

Tire pressure lights have shown up more times than I can count and I’ve also gotten a few check engine lights, as well. This obviously isn’t the fault of the drive itself, but it is a tough situation to be in if you have important classes coming up.

One specific time I remember is when I had a low oil light on, so I texted my dad to help me out. He made the drive to Misericordia to check it out and, luckily, there’s an AutoZone five minutes from campus where we picked up oil. We filled the car with oil and got it settled. Unfortunately, it was in the pouring rain while I waited for another class so for the rest of the day, I was soaked.

Sadly, car issues are a part of life. However, one instance of a flat tire I got driving home was rare.

Valentine’s Day 2022 was a troublesome day for me and my car. I was driving home around noon with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Everything was normal until, all of a sudden, I felt a huge bump. I’ve hit some huge potholes before, but this was worse. I realized I had just gotten my first flat tire.

I pulled over to the side of the road to check the damage and, thankfully, only the tire was hurt and nothing else. The guy across the street from where I was pulled over offered to allow me inside his house since it was February and snowing, but I decided I’d stay in the car with the heat on.

Since this was my first flat tire, I called my dad to see what the best option would be to fix the problem. I had no idea how to change a tire (I learned a little bit after this situation), so I could’ve either called roadside assistance or our family friend, who happens to be a mechanic.

I called the family friend who said he could get to me in about a half hour, so I stayed in my car. The wait for help seemed a bit too long, but I didn’t want to get concerned. After about 40 minutes, I got a call from my dad.

My dad told me our mechanic had gotten a flat tire on the way to help me. I couldn’t believe it. I got a flat tire and then the person who was on their way to fix mine also got one.

I didn’t want to call a roadside assistance number to get a random person, so I waited for our family friend. He finally made it after fixing his tire and, after about two hours of waiting, we were able to change the tire with my spare. I was luckily back on the road.

I got home to my dad and we called multiple places to get me a new tire. Thankfully, one place had the tire that would work, so I had to drive out again to drop the car off. We got the call later in the day to pick up the car up and, around $140 later, I had a new tire. The flat tire situation was finally over.

These issues aren’t only found by college commuters, as everyone goes through car troubles. I do feel, though, that only a year into my life as a college commuter has given me some interesting stories about what it’s been like for me. I’m sure in the next two and a half years, I’ll find myself in more interesting situations.