Surviving Life as a Commuter

Being a second year student who happens to live approx. 90kms from QUT, makes me somewhat qualified to give advice to those of you commuting to Uni. I hope to impart some of my wisdom so that you don’t have to make the same tragic mistakes I did. Here are my top tips to ensure a smooth transition from your bed to QUT and back again, preferably with some humour and gained knowledge in between.

1. Catch the earlier train. Trust me when I say it will be a blessing in disguise. Not only will you avoid running late for your classes due to a phantom “signalling error” but your morning will be fair less chaotic. You will be able to stroll through both the train station and Uni campus, rather than doing that awkward half run/half walk thing. Everyone has seen that at least once.

2. Sleep wherever and whenever you can. Whilst enduring the hour or so on public transport take the liberty to catch a few uninterrupted minutes of shuteye. Of course this is entirely at your own risk but with a pair of headphones and some sunglasses your fellow commuters will be none the wiser. Bonus tip, don’t place your head on another’s shoulder and do your best to control the dribble.

3. Headphones. As mentioned above these will help to convince other train users that you aren’t just snoozing but can also be an absolute saviour. Obviously you can listen to the beloved T-Swizzle, but downloading podcasts the night before and listening to them on the go can be a massive time saver. This is can also work well for those journalism students who want to catch up on news without trolling through social media.

4. Coffee. Once successfully on campus early, if using tip #1, you will have the time to grab yourself that much needed hot beverage. Personally, a good cappuccino or hot chocolate does the job but a skinny caramel macchiato with 2 shots will look just as good in that Styrofoam disposable mug. Make sure to take a photo of the said cup and upload to Instagram using some hash tag about Uni life or early mornings.

5. Planners, Diaries or Smartphone Calendars. As a commuter your time is limited so treasure these with your life, they will be your lifelines for the semester. Not only can you keep track of upcoming assessment, readings and in class exams (which by the way should NEVER have become a thing) but you can organise to squeeze in just enough of a social life to keep your tweets interesting. In my experience writing down everything at the beginning of O-Week will help immensely when you’re too stressed to function.

I really hope that at least one of these tips will ease your pain as someone that has volunteered to endure public transport. I assure you that there will be days where three cups of coffee aren’t enough and your coloured coded diary plans go completely out the window, but Uni is fun and there are plenty of people experiencing the exact same thing.

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism