Everyone's ideal college experience somehow involves bad food, bad dorms, bad roommates (and the list just goes on). Of course, everyone wants to get that "ideal college experience" that comes from commuting. The idea of having to commute to college even makes people cringe. But to be honest, commuting isn't so bad, unless you live over an hour away. Here are five reasons why commuting to college is underrated, as illustrated by the Simpsons, and told by someone who experiences it every day...

1. Freedom

Guess what? The sad reality is that when you dorm in college, you're essentially stuck on campus. Unless you have your car on campus, everything you do will somehow be associated with your school. If you go to the gym, you'll be surrounded by people from your school. If you go get lunch, you're surrounded by people from your school. And the list just continues. I can continue to live my life and go and do whatever I want with MY car.

2. Better food

I think everyone can agree that the food on college campuses is... AWFUL. Some colleges are lucky enough to have their Chipotle's and Chick-fil-A's, but let's be honest — not too many college students are going to be able to afford buying food from these places every day. Most college students are stuck with awful dining hall food or have to spend their nights eating Ramen Noodles (not to hate on Ramen, but I can't imagine that eating that every day would be healthy. Commuters are privileged enough to come back to a home-cooked meal from their parents and a full fridge.

3. My bed is the best bed

Still, to this day, I don't understand how people make the transition from their beds to their dorm beds. Although dorm beds aren't REALLY BAD, they still are pretty bad. Nothing beats your own bed and nothing beats actually being able to sleep in it every night.

4. Less distractions

Let's be honest — dorming isn't necessarily the best option in terms of studying or going to class. There's no way you'll be able to properly study with your roommate blasting their music or bringing you into their plans. Once you dorm, your roommate's plans become your plans. And by the time you get to your work, it's already 3 a.m. Commuters have the convenience of being able to going home and study. They do not have to worry about having to start their homework at 3 a.m., resulting in a sleepless night.

5. Money

Time for the obvious reason: MONEY. The "room and board" portion of your tuition is almost enough to pay for a whole semester's worth. Sure, gas money might take a hit on your bank account after a semester, but it's nowhere near the hit you'll take from four years of paying for dorming. Talk about having loans piled up just to get a bad bed and a molding dorm room — now that's throwing your money away.

Now, I'm not going to say that commuting is perfect because it's not, but I don't regret deciding to commute to college because that ride to school is so calming (if there's no traffic).