In my Junior and Senior year of high school I worked at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, NJ. The mall was about 5 mins away by driving from me. However, my parents both worked at the same time I worked so they could not drop me off. I also don’t have a license or a car so driving myself was also out of the question. Because of this I had to take the bus to work. I was accustomed to taking the bus since I was always took it with my dad but I was nervous to start taking it alone. I eventually got accustomed to taking the bus and within time I felt like a regular. Something I noticed though was that most of the people on the bus with me were often Latino or African American. Being a rider of the bus system made me realize that in this situation I was a both the captive rider and the choice rider. At this point I didn’t have the choice of taking public transport but often times I would have the choice. At this point I was transitioning between the two. Having these experiences made me understand my privilege and also shows how often times minorities are unable to afford other forms of transportation.  

Dylan Aks