A Ride to Remember: One high schooler’s opinion about riding the school bus

There was only one word to describe what I was seeing: chaos. A scream echoed through the bus, high and screechy like a little girl’s- though I can’t honestly say it wasn’t a boy’s. A crumbled piece of paper was thrown and it happened to find its way into my head. A twelve-year-old snickered quietly, and thinking I hadn’t heard him laugh, gave me the most innocent face and apologized. I rolled my eyes and plugged in my head phones, turning my iPod up to full volume to drown out the ambience of middle schoolers laughing obnoxiously, and to mute the punk-rock teenager swearing in front of me.

I hate the bus. The noise is dreadfully loud, and it is crowded beyond belief. I find myself doing anything humanly possible to escape riding the bus. Parents don’t understand why their child would rather wait an extra half hour sitting in the library rather than just take the five minute bus ride home. Maybe if parents were to ride the bus every now and then they would understand why most teenagers hate it. There are several reasons I can think of off the top of my head on why not to take the bus.

First of all, I think it would be much quicker to just be picked up by parents. The bus ride is longer than five minutes, if taken into account the fifteen minute wait to leave the school parking lot. It is more beneficial to wait at school, if possible, for parents to arrive. It would save time, energy, and it would save students from developing a headache. From the high school, it takes approximately three minutes to walk to the Freshman Campus, and an extra three to locate your bus. Actually, getting to the bus would be more difficult for any upper-classmen who have seventh hour at the Freshman Campus. Unless they bring all their stuff with them, the students would have to walk all the way back to the high school to get their homework. Part of the reason that the buses have to wait until 2:30 to leave is in case of any slow high schoolers. For me, I sometimes have trouble finding my bus because it doesn’t always have the number on the front, therefore having me parade up and down the parking lot in search for the bus. By the time I do happen upon my bus, it is crowded beyond belief.

I mentally groan as someone sits next to me. The bus is full to the brim. Howell buses are extremely crowded. When the immense number of students is taken into account, it’s not surprising. A quick glance in any bus, and a seat being shared by three students will come into view. It’s barely possible to hear one’s self think when in a bus that crowded. By the time I get to my stop, I’ve already grown a level two migraine.

The worst time to have to take the bus is during winter. For those who have to walk home from their neighbor’s house, they can vouch for me when I say it isn’t pleasant to walk into the house with soggy boots. I don’t live too far away from my neighbors, but the snow covering the ground can make anyone go insane. In addition, I live on a lovely dirt road, so whenever it rains or snows, that dirt evolves into mud. That mud evolves into a big pain in the neck for me.

Public buses may be a useful resource when no other form of transportation is available, but I still would rather walk home than take the bus. Perhaps if sometime in the future buses became less crowded, I would gladly consider riding the bus home. Perhaps if the school could set aside some funds for a bus specifically for middle schoolers, it would solve the problem of over-crowded buses and be a metaphorical Advil for many high schoolers’ migraines. Until then, I’m going to keep these excuses up my sleeve the next time my parents want me to take the bus.