It has been a long time since I’ve written anything that I’ve found vaguely amusing and at class today I had the luxury of discovering an old essay I wrote in 2005 for my english class. Aside from finding a few odd phrases and some redundancy, I like it. I miss when I wrote up stuff like this.

But without further ado:

Most people regard public transportation as an ineffective tool to get around the city. I know that I did at first. The idea of waiting around for a bus to arrive when I could be doing things did not appeal to me. But over the past few weeks, my view has morphed into appreciation.

City buses prowl the streets of most major cities and occasionally some of the smaller ones. Even before I moved to Metropolis, they were always a familiar sight. The blundering beasts of machinery that drove too slowly and made inappropriate stops to pick up civilians frequently made getting where I wanted to go in a hurry quite difficult. I depended on my friends for rides to places I would like to go and if that wouldn’t work, I would borrow my parents’ car.

The prospect of using public transportation never appealed to me for several reasons. I tend to be an extremely lazy person and drawing out an extensive plan based on the path the buses took would take time and effort. I would have had to organize where I planned on going and then select the bus which would take me there as well as plan the time I wanted to leave so that I could make it on time. My highlighter was infuriated with its overuse. This didn’t reflect my “go with the flow” mentality, where I tend to change my plans on a whim and wander around according to my emotions.

My friends would take me wherever I wanted to go for free, in exchange for company, so the idea of paying to go somewhere was laughable. Enjoy a nice time with friends and get where I need to go or sit with strangers and take the long way? I preferred answer A.

Most places it is necessary to pay once one arrives, so that would cost me even more. As a high school student, I couldn’t afford to be paying to go places and then waiting around. I had seemingly important things to do. There were clothing sales to attend to and friends to visit. I did approve of the benefits of public transportation, but I was already using them by carpooling with others.

It was only when I moved out on my own that I seriously considered using the bus systems. When one moves to a new city, everything is different and knowledge of where to go and how to get there just doesn’t exist. There are bizarre one way streets that turn up and force split second U-turns and quite a stressful few moments. One must sit down and memorize the entire map of Metropolis to figure out how to get anywhere.

An added difficulty is going off to college, as one is financially hindered so that purchasing a car will not fit in the budget. Even if I did purchase a car, insurance payments as well as maintenance would rival with my bills for school. School and its components are quite a bit more important than a car.

My previous backup plan of inviting friends along for the ride was impossible, as now I know only a few people. Most of my contacts were family members with their own lives so they couldn’t cart me around like I was used to. They have families and lives to attend to. I had to find a solution for myself, so I turned to public transportation.

The first step is locating a bus near ones home or starting point. I found a stop right off of Main Street and promptly got on, grabbing a map as I went. The entire time I rode the bus, I was decoding the map and then transferring to different buses so that I could ride them all and get an understanding of where they went.

This system worked its magic and as I read through the brochure, I noticed just why it would work for me. I would have time to study while waiting for the bus and riding. There was a snazzy student pass I could buy and pay half price, which my wallet appreciated. The poor thing almost jumped for joy. I could also meet interesting, new people while riding the bus, and I wouldn’t have to worry about buying a car and paying car insurance, or the massive school parking lot dilemma. The idea of trudging through metallic fields of cars to find my nonexistent one and then driving around the one way street for miles just to get home, while the corn fields taunted me with their familiarity, was painful. I don’t know my way around and paying fantastic gas prices because I got lost or found an amazingly long way home would not work out.

As a proud user of the public system for a total of seven days, I would say that I heartily approve of it now. I even recommend using it to others. The familiar sight of a purple and white bus crashing down the street almost brings a smile to my face. I know that I will make it to my destination within a certain amount of time, and I don’t have to worry about missing a turn or dropping the map and swerving off the road, which would have been likely to happen had I been driving. I prefer to let the drivers find their way around seeing as how they know generally where they are going.

The fare of $5 a week for 10 chauffeured rides anywhere I like is excellent, plus I always have new people to get to know. The bus can almost be compared to a luxury cruise throughout the city, with plush plastic chairs and a barely there cushion which adds to the overall style of the place. There are also the vibrant ads which always provide interesting brain stimulation such as pondering whether to blame work for an injury and if suing is the best alternative. The ride is never boring and somehow I always manage to get exactly where I want to be.

I used to write like this on purpose for essays, just to see what kind of comments the professor would write. You know they have to get bored reading through stacks of essays that sound the same. Throw in some snarky verbs and adjectives and you’ve got yourself a distraction. History teachers love it.

I wish I had a copy of an essay I wrote for my last english class in high school. It was a great one where I compared the school parking lot to a graveyard. It was enjoyable, even if it sounds odd by the description. =D

Anyway. Time to get off this school computer and head home to kidlets and a comfy bed.