Perk #1: Commuting is a life event.

A general definition from Google entails that commuting is "to travel some distance between one's home and place of work on a regular basis." A great number of people commute every single day in the Philippines. Though some people own a car, they also manage to commute in order to take a day off from driving. All of us most likely spend 30 minutes to an hour or more in commuting from one place to another and vice versa everyday. It appears to be a life event that every single person gets to experience at least once in their lives.

Perk #2: Commuting is traveling.

My perspective of commuting actually changed when I started to travel outside Manila. Whenever I commute in other places, I always learn and discover something. Similarly to how traveling opens our eyes to the unknown, commuting does the same. But of course, the ease and comfort of commuting abroad is high compared to commuting here in the Philippines. Public transportation abroad is way better than ours. But I always come back here with an open eye to see what we lack and try to do something about it no matter how little it is. For example, when I alight the train and climb the escalators, I stay on the right side of the escalator to be able to let people in a rush pass on the left side. I acquired the habit after I rode trains in Tokyo, Japan. It won't really hurt applying the good things we see in other countries to our own country, right? If it is for the betterment of our public transportation, then there is no reason not to do it.

Perk #3: Commuting is fun.

When we commute, we can do a lot of things. We can read a book while riding a train, listen to music, send a text to a friend, surf the internet, and many others. We cannot always do those things when we are driving. I am not so surprised when I saw people holding out or using laptops in the streets and in public transportation vehicles in Singapore. I did not wonder why Japanese or European people watch movies or read books with their phones or tablets in the train. Although bringing out a cellphone, especially an expensive one, or listening to our iPod or mp3 player is not advisable while commuting here in the Philippines, we still do it anyway. Why? Because we enjoy commuting when we are doing those activities. We just need to be vigilant if we are commuting here.

Perk #4: Commuting makes us flexible.

We become more flexible when we commute. We have a lot of alternative ways on how to get to work or home. When one route seems to fail, we can easily use an alternative route that can bring us to our destination. When the road is traffic, we can choose to walk if we are running late for work or for school. We cannot just leave our car in a traffic jam and walk towards our destination. But when we commute, we are free to do what we want. There are numerous possibilities.

Perk #5: Commuting teaches us to navigate.

Isn't it strange if somebody asked you for directions in your town and you were not able to give any? There is always a reason to explore our city. Navigating in this digital age has become much easier than before due to applications such as Google maps. The directions to different places can be found in Google as well. Moreover, being able to experience going to places for the very first time is an unforgettable experience. In the future, your previous experience will help not only you but other people as well.

Throughout my 4 years of working, I am still commuting. I have not bought my own car. In some days, I get to drive and borrow the family car. Someday, I know I will desire to have my own car and prefer to drive. Until that day comes, I will enjoy and appreciate the perks of commuting. For if I call myself a traveler, then I can also bear being a commuter.