How Do Students Deal With Long Commutes to School?

by ERICA FENYO

The car engines slowly start and begin the trek from San Francisco to Menlo School. As the commuters watch the city pass by, their classmates in Menlo Park and Atherton sleep soundly for another hour.

While many Menlo students live within a 20-minute drive from school, others travel for nearly an hour each morning and afternoon. Senior Isabel

Staff illustration: Sophie Fang

Cordon lives 45 minutes away in Ingleside, San Francisco. Since Cordon got her driver’s license last year, she drives herself to school. When she was an underclassman, her mom drove her on the way to her job in Sunnyvale.

Cordon’s biggest struggle with living far away is making last-minute plans with friends. Before Cordon started driving herself, she didn’t want to burden her parents by asking for long rides. But, even now that she has her license, seeing friends can still be a hassle. “If we’re only going to hang out for 30 minutes, I usually can’t [attend] because it’s more time driving than actually hanging out,” Cordon said.

While Cordon often sees the commute as a chance to unwind after school, the 45-minute drive can act as yet another challenge after a stressful day. “It also gets really tiring when life is stressful and all you want to do is go do your work,” Cordon said. “Sometimes you get that little [anxiety], like, ‘I wish I lived five minutes from school, so I can just do that or go to sleep’ because it’s sometimes hard to stay awake while you’re driving.”

Freshman Brendan Wong also comes from the North, taking the train for a 30-minute commute from San Mateo. Although he sometimes wishes that the train was just a “little bit faster,” Wong ultimately finds living further away convenient for both school and weekends. “A lot of my friends come from [my] middle school, and if other friends live farther away from me, FaceTime or meeting up at some place in the middle is convenient,” Wong said.

Similarly, after commuting from Pacifica for four years, alumna Bella Guel, ‘20, understands the pros and cons of living far away from campus. Guel started her school mornings at 6:15 a.m., got to her carpool at 6:35 a.m. and drove to San Bruno to catch the bus by 7 a.m. Following the bus ride, she boarded a 40-minute train and subsequently took Menlo’s train shuttle to campus.

Although the early mornings tired Guel, the more significant problem with living far away was that her social life suffered. “There was little to no spontaneity until I had the freedom of driving,” Guel said. “I remember that I convinced one of my senior friends on the water polo team my freshman year to tell me the [Homecoming] theme early so

I could bring an outfit, since I wouldn’t be able to go home and throw something together before the dance that evening.”

Despite these drawbacks, Guel met amazing friends on the train who helped her develop a sense of community. According to Guel, she also grew acquainted with public transport and learned how to maximize her time while commuting. “I am extremely comfortable taking public transit now and really good at time management, multitasking and planning,” Guel said. “I think that being a commuter forced me to start building these skills way earlier than the average high schooler which set me up for success in college where you are completely on your own.”