I like being organized in almost all aspects of my life. My morning routine is one of them, but more importantly, the way in which I arrive to school.
Every day, one of my parents drives me to school and drops me off in the same spot around the same time. When everything goes smoothly, I find that my morning is much better than the contrary. Feeling rushed, angry, and uncomfortable has never been my preferred wake up call, so I try to avoid that scenario as much as possible.

It recently dawned on me that for the entire duration of the school year, I’ve been traveling to school the exact same way every day; the monotony was starting to itch. Hence, I decided that for five days I would get to school five different ways.

Monday April 11, 2016
Today ran like normal and my dad drove me. I closed the car door at around 7:35 am and we were off in mostly silence. The monotone NPR voice was humming in the background, and my dad’s car was littered with a rogue sock, Starbucks napkins, and surfing gear from my brother’s latest beach excursion.
Every time my parents drive me, I can’t help but feel bad for those kids standing on the corner waiting for the bus or walking sulking to school. A rush of guilt runs through me and I feel incredibly spoiled to have a personal chauffeur provide door-to-door service every morning.

Tuesday April 12, 2016
I used to be a loyal Pace Bus rider sophomore year. The over crowdedness, noisiness, and general carelessness of other riders always turned me off. Despite my dislike, I obliged to ride it for the sake of this article.
To my surprise, it was actually pleasant. I took the earlier one and arrived to school in a matter of minutes, with enough time to finish homework assignments from the night before.
Taking the Pace saved my mom the hassle of sitting in traffic, although I did miss our morning tradition of listening to Howard Stern on Sirius XM.

Wednesday April 13, 2016
This morning, I took the metra, which meant leaving the house at 7:00 am as opposed to my usual 7:35 am departure.
The $1.50 I had to pay for a 50 second ride annoys me but otherwise, having the train adjacent to school is a big convenience. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever take it again because I live far from the station, but next year I know I’ll have to rely on it every day to get to and from classes.

Thursday April 14, 2016
What’s difficult about mornings is that they’re cold. I wanted to walk to school today but since I live more than three miles away, it would mean I’d have to spend a little more than an hour of time walking, with a backpack on no less.
Alternatively, I had my dad drop me off at a friends house and I walked from there. If the temperature was 20 degrees warmer it would have been more doable. The sun was a nice perk.

Monday April 17, 2016
On Friday I wimped out and didn’t ride my bike to school like I had intended. Instead, I rode on Monday, a half day. That meant that my backpack was lighter and I also didn’t have to bring a lunch.
I recently purchased a new bike and intend on bringing it to college and riding everywhere. With that in mind, I figured now would be a good time to practice that mentality.
Biking means having to consider the functionality of everything: your outfit, hair, and schedule are all factors that determine your ride.

Besides the organization of it all, the ride is really enjoyable. I personally love getting up and moving first thing in the morning.
For a while I went to a spin class in the morning, but that meant waking up at 4:30 am. It was okay for a while, but I think biking [outside] is the better way to go.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially in the mornings, and as someone who likes routine, I admit that it can be boring. Not only that, trying out different modes of transportation for a week stimulated what it will be like in college, living in a big city and having to take public transportation everywhere.
It’s unlikely that I’ll take the pace or the train again this year, but if I have to, I won’t complain.