I'm On A Train!

As you may have guessed by the title of the post, I am in fact on a train at this very moment. To normal university students, or ‘day rats’ as we know them, a train or public transport is the usual way to and from university. They use it many times a day to get to where they want to go.

For us college kids however, public transport is still something that we’re all getting used to. We’re trapped in this ‘St Lucia bubble’ where everything we need is a walking distance away and the only transport we generally use is a bus to the Royal Exchange on a Sunday night. Thus, there is always a little bit of anxiety when it comes to venturing outside the bubble and using these forms of transport.

Today I am going back down to my house in Byron Bay for the weekend to see the family. It is father’s day after all, so it was a fitting time to head back and catch up with everyone. I decided to leave my Psychology tute just a little bit early, to ensure that I would make the bus to take me to the train station. But as the tute went on, the anxiety built up. I ended up leaving 15 minutes earlier than I planned to. Another contributing factor to this may have been that the tutorial was utterly boring, but that is irrelevant. So arriving at the train station 40 minutes before my train was supposed to arrive, I sat myself down, mentally preparing myself for a long wait. An announcement then was projected over the loud speaker announcing that the gold coast express was arriving in two minutes.

Ultimately, I am now sitting on the train before my planned train because I was so nervous about missing it that I arrived TOO early. I don’t know whether this is a triumph or defeat. I am however  highly disappointed that no one is willing to speak. Every seat is full and people are standing, however no-one is opening their mouth or engaging in conversation. I miss the days when talking to strangers was a normal thing. When people couldn’t hide behind their headphones or bury their head in their IPad.

Though my journey is nearly over and I am coming to the conclusion of this blog post, I would just like to say this. Socialise. I’m sure I’m not the only one sitting on the train hoping someone will make contact. Maybe you might even make a friend!

Think about it.