The Metrobus That is My Life

So, I landed a job and now there’s no turning back. The New York Times published an article last week about this very situation, college graduates who have had the last summer vacation of their lives. It all sounds very traumatic, and overdramatic. And I can’t help but hear an alarm going off in my mind. There’s this small sense of panic, maybe even claustrophobia.

But, in my new reality, there’s no room for panic. Even when the alarm is ringing at full force, I’ve got to get up, get dressed and get to work.

It was in my first week of work, when I boarded my very first Washington, D.C. metrobus, that I realized public transportation really is the embodiment of this new life.

Navigating the bus line is my Everest. When I have successfully mastered it, I believe I will finally be able to relax and set my panic at ease. (Biking is reserved for year two).

The bus is a complicated system of turns, colors and timing (albeit, fairly inaccurate timing). Mastering it is a true, never-ending test of patience. Some days I’m tapping my foot and anxiously checking my watch. I’ll hop on any bus that comes my way. I’m desperate.

Other days, I’m riding easy with space and time to spare.

Sometimes, I’m crammed up against all kinds of people like a sardine. Obsessively thinking about how I can’t wait to get to work and wash my hands.

But, isn’t that life? I may be rushing through projects, desperate to get things done, desperate to succeed – to prove to myself (and others) that I was hired for a reason. I might be crossing my fingers in hopes that the right thing comes along at the right time.

Or, I may be crammed back in a corner, with a full schedule and a full plate, pushing myself out the door to “freedom.”

Or, I may be rested and relaxed taking it all in stride and calmly getting it done.

Sometimes, I might be going at it alone. Other times I may be seated alongside someone who’s in it with me.

Oh and some days I may be onboard the bus with a sleepy driver who slams on brakes causing me to be thrown across my seat and slammed up against a divider. I won’t even plunge into the wealth of metaphors that situation provides.

This is the metrobus that is my life.

-Rachel