If I were to describe life in the suburbs in one sentence, it is you leave before the sunrises and arrive when the sunsets. Here is my life living in suburbia Oahu.
My six am alarm goes off. I get up and do some stretches then get ready for the day. I sit in traffic mentally and physically fighting for an hour and a half. From a highway to a freeway, to the inner roads, onto a city bus I go. Given I am not the one driving, it is still a battle. A literal battle with the clock and the physical traffic, a never-ending, never winning battle, a battle that will take the life out of you. You need to block at least an hour to get into the city from the suburbs. That is two hours (minimum) that you don’t get back, rather it is wasted.
You live like you are a shell of a person because if there are any social events you always consider your commute time. You make an analysis of whether that event is worth the hustle and bustle of the commute you would have to face.
On a daily, you take into account the items that you need to live your life in a healthy fashion. The type of person that exercises and eats healthy, but how do you incorporate that lifestyle when you commute? For me to just get a workout in I need to plan ahead. To see more into my life check out my Instagram.
The night before I make sure I pack my gym clothes, the items I need at the gym, the items I need to freshen-up after the gym, and the items I need to wear after the gym. To continue my day after the gym I normally study, attend meetings, and work. I need to make sure I have all the items for those things, from notebooks to textbooks. In between this hectic life I need to eat, preferably healthy. In order for me to do that I need to pack my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, from my water to my salad to my protein shaker. One item is forgotten and it throws off your routine. Not to mention you are eating in the car instead of dining with your family.
An ample amount of organization can get you by but with an abundance of stress. Unnecessary stress. What comes on the weekends is exhaustion, constantly fighting to catch up with your sleep schedule and your school schedule. Completely lost because a routine is hard to establish when living in suburbia.
Living in suburbia needs effort, organization, and patience. You need to be willing to sacrifice a few things in your life in order to do what you want to do if you can even make that choice. You are constantly in a struggle; once you think you have lifted your head above water you realize that your feet aren’t even touching the ground. You as an empty shell of a person are just floating through what life is throwing at you instead of living the way you want to live.
To compare my daily suburban life in Hawaii versus a day in my life in New York city check out this post.
Comment below what your life is like whether you are living in suburbia or have a city life.