//PICTURED ABOVE: Senior Paige Halverson stopping a cab

Living in Lakewood, I take around 30 to 40 minutes to drive to school every morning and afternoon, and with heavy traffic, it can take me up to an hour. Personally, I find the long commute tedious, and traveling back and forth from school heavily cuts into the time that I can otherwise spend finishing up my homework.

When I have early morning practice for sports, I wake up at least 30 minutes earlier just to get to the practice session in time. When I have sports or an extracurricular activity after school, I end up getting home around 7:00 or 7:15 pm, an hour after sports practice finishes. As a result, I end up finishing homework much later in the night.

 This sparked my curiosity, so I decided to ask a few of my fellow students who have the same problem about how they deal with their long commutes. By car, by bus, or even by train, Hockaday girls travel from all over the Metroplex to get to school each morning.

While for some it takes just a couple of minutes to reach Hockaday, it takes over an hour for others, such as junior Bethany Vodicka.  Some girls who rely on public transportation have to use multiple vehicles  like senior Addy Sykes, who lives in Denton, TX.

“I drive my car from my house and leave it at the station in Denton during the school day. I then take the DART train into Dallas, where I have another car that I take to school,” Sykes said.

Girls spend their extra time in commute in various ways. While Vodicka spends her time thinking about weekend plans and listening to music, freshman Cristiana Miele sleeps during the drive from Forney, TX.

“The drive is kind of my break from homework. When I’m in the car it’s kind of my sleeping period and break period,” Miele stated.

However, many of the girls face the same problem as I do. The hours spent traveling can cut into thier schedules.

“On days that I have to work, I have to take the train home early, so I have to leave school early. This usually happens about twice a week,” Sykes explained.

After learning about each of their situations, I decided to share some of my advice for staying productive during long commutes.

To avoid the buildup of homework, I listen to videos I have for homework while I drive. Or, if I have a passenger with me like my younger sister, I ask her to quiz me for an upcoming test sometimes.

While driving long distances for school can be time consuming, there are definitely ways to to make the time pass and use it effectively.

Story by Ashlye Dullye, Business Manager