Avery Fretwell

My final post! Historically to get around (because I don't have a car) I would mostly rely on carpooling/ paying friends in gas money for rides, or ubering if I had some extra funds to spend. i would take the bus on occasion, but it takes much longer so I wasn't a big fan of that. For my eco challenge, I chose to take the bus every day that I could (some work days I was unable to, if my hours went very early/ very late so the routes that take me home weren't active, or if a bus was really late so I had to give in and uber in order to get where I needed to go). My public transit route home also includes a 20-30 minute walk along a coastal trail. The first few days, I struggled with how long the bus was, and I would oftentimes drag my feet doing this walk. But, as I did it more, the more I fell in love with this routine. My bus time became my dedicated scroll/read time, which then made it so I was more focused on campus, because I had already gotten it all out of my system. And the talk especially has been fun, I pause at lots of spots to listen for birds, spot sea lions/seals, or just admire nature in general. I have also tried to eat lots more fruit, and use reusable containers whenever possible, and while those changes were sometimes hard to accomplish (ex: out of fruit or last minute went to coffee shop so didn't have my mug) but overall, I feel have I have made lasting change sin my routine, and I have literally saved dozens in dollars just by taking the bus! More money to buy fresh produce!

I can't believe how much minor tweaks to my routine have changed my mindsets! I now even have playlists dedicated for when I do my daily walking, and even though public transit takes longer, my time on transit systems is when I get to read books and text friends before I "lock in" on campus or at work

This is a reflection for last week, but choosing to take the bus more often when I can instead of doing other solutions has been really nice, and has saved me a lot of money! Plus, I am making myself get out there and go on walks so much more than I had before, and it has honestly been really nice! Now, I feel like I cant go through my day without a nice walk

I take the bus and/or carpool every day, and it is a pretty 20 minute walk on a coastal trail from the bus stop to my apartment, so I am excited to see how my daily commute supports the environment!