When you get to college, you might be glad you don't have to deal with your parents so much anymore. You might be glad to stay far away. That was the case for my parents. But it wasn't the case for me.
I went to a high school where everyone took the subway. It's not quite the same since I'm now going to college on Long Island. I still take the subway, but now I take the Long Island Railroad to get to school. Some might think it's not the best decision, but it has its fair share of pros and cons, like anything else.
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First, I live in Queens. It is possible to drive from Queens to Long Island in a relatively short amount of time. However, since I'm so used to taking the subway, I can just apply my knowledge to the Long Island Railroad. Unfortunately, you have to wake up earlier than residents just to plan your trip. Depending on your schedule, you might have to wake up at different times to accommodate yourself. Yes, it's very annoying, but you surprisingly get used to it after awhile.
I'm one of those people who like to arrive early if possible. When I take the subway to the railroad, sometimes I get there 20-25 minutes earlier and I end up waiting. It doesn't help when it's cold but thankfully there are waiting rooms. When the train finally arrives, sometimes it takes a few minutes to leave the station. Not good if you have to arrive to class on time.
Let's not forget the train can sometimes stop when you clearly don't want it to. Fortunately, it doesn't happen much, but when it does, it's very irritating. One time, I was stuck at another station for 15 minutes and I missed half my class.
Once I'm at school, 90% of the time the shuttle is there to take us when we get off. Nevertheless, if the driver's impatient because the train took too long, it won't show. When it snowed last February, the shuttle didn't show, so we had to walk 5 blocks to the school. We survived, but it wasn't much fun.
All-in-all, taking the train to school isn't quite as terrible as you might think. I do plan to learn to drive soon, but even when I do, I'll still be taking the train because I think it's the better way to go. Just be warned: once you listen to the P.A. announce all the trains enough times, you'll memorize where the trains are headed.
