Stuck in the Suburbs
Returning to New Jersey from my summer in DC is taking a lot of adjusting. I'm glad to see my family, but I miss my job, I miss my friends, I miss my disability community, I miss the excitement of city life, but most of all, I miss my freedom. I'm back to the suburbs, which means I'm back to living somewhere where you need to drive to get anything. This means that I am completely dependent on other people to take me where I want to go. I don't drive, so simple things I enjoyed in the city are now gone from my life again. If I want to go to the movies, I have to convince somebody to take me or I have to plan several days in advance so that I can take paratransit. I haven't even been home that long and I'm already feeling the stress of lack of access to transportation.
In the suburbs everything I do takes more planning. In the suburbs everything I do takes more convincing. I need to make sure that I have people set up to take me from point A to B. Back here, I feel dependent, and I hate it. My short time living DC has showed me the importance of access to transportation. Access to transportation is one of the major things I need to be independent. Living with in rolling distance to things such as the grocery store means that I can do things by myself, and I don't always need another person to help me. Here, in the suburbs, that is not my reality. Here in New Jersey, I am stuck in my house unless somebody else decides to take me somewhere, or I plan in advance and get paratransit. Here in my suburban childhood home, there is no such thing as wheeling to work, the grocery store, or even a coffee shop. Here in the suburbs, cars are essential, they are not a choice, they are a necessity.
As I think about my future, I realize the importance of access to public transportation. I may never drive a car, so when I choose where to live in the future, I need to consider where I can get without having access to my own motor vehicle. I also need to consider whether I can use standard public transportation or whether I need to rely on things like paratransit to get where I need to go. To have the ultimate freedom, I know that good standard public transportation is an absolute necessity. Accessible public transportation opens up doors that would otherwise be shut to me. Accessible public transportation means that I will be able to get to work and go about my daily life without having to rely on other people to take me everywhere I want to go. Accessible public transportation means that I can be independent, versus being at somebody else's mercy. Accessible public transportation is access, and access is the ultimate key to freedom.
I used to think that the only way I could be independent was to drive a car. I used to not understand what freedom and access meant. Freedom and access don't have to take one form. To me, freedom and access mean being able to get where you need to go by your own accord in your own volition, and not having to rely on somebody else's pity. I never want people to feel bad for me, I never want to be the object of somebody else's pity, because no matter what, that won't get me anywhere in the long run. Constantly having to hope that people will take me places is no way to live life. It is being stuck in constant childhood when I know I want something else. I am so grateful for my experiences in DC because they showed me that public transportation is a viable option.
When I look to my future, I see myself in a city. When I look to my future I know that public transportation will be a major part of my life. This is why I will continue to fight for the universal accessibility of all public transportation from the DC Metro to the New York subway and beyond. To me, public transportation means that I will be able to live my own life, and therefore I need it to be accessible. Lack of accessible public transportation means that living in the city is only marginally better than living in the suburbs. Lack of accessible public transportation would shut all the doors that the city opened for me. I will fight for accessible public transportation because it is the key to my freedom, as well as the freedom of hundreds of thousands of others. Without accessible public transportation, I will be perpetually stuck in the suburbs.
In the suburbs everything I do takes more planning. In the suburbs everything I do takes more convincing. I need to make sure that I have people set up to take me from point A to B. Back here, I feel dependent, and I hate it. My short time living DC has showed me the importance of access to transportation. Access to transportation is one of the major things I need to be independent. Living with in rolling distance to things such as the grocery store means that I can do things by myself, and I don't always need another person to help me. Here, in the suburbs, that is not my reality. Here in New Jersey, I am stuck in my house unless somebody else decides to take me somewhere, or I plan in advance and get paratransit. Here in my suburban childhood home, there is no such thing as wheeling to work, the grocery store, or even a coffee shop. Here in the suburbs, cars are essential, they are not a choice, they are a necessity.
As I think about my future, I realize the importance of access to public transportation. I may never drive a car, so when I choose where to live in the future, I need to consider where I can get without having access to my own motor vehicle. I also need to consider whether I can use standard public transportation or whether I need to rely on things like paratransit to get where I need to go. To have the ultimate freedom, I know that good standard public transportation is an absolute necessity. Accessible public transportation opens up doors that would otherwise be shut to me. Accessible public transportation means that I will be able to get to work and go about my daily life without having to rely on other people to take me everywhere I want to go. Accessible public transportation means that I can be independent, versus being at somebody else's mercy. Accessible public transportation is access, and access is the ultimate key to freedom.
I used to think that the only way I could be independent was to drive a car. I used to not understand what freedom and access meant. Freedom and access don't have to take one form. To me, freedom and access mean being able to get where you need to go by your own accord in your own volition, and not having to rely on somebody else's pity. I never want people to feel bad for me, I never want to be the object of somebody else's pity, because no matter what, that won't get me anywhere in the long run. Constantly having to hope that people will take me places is no way to live life. It is being stuck in constant childhood when I know I want something else. I am so grateful for my experiences in DC because they showed me that public transportation is a viable option.
When I look to my future, I see myself in a city. When I look to my future I know that public transportation will be a major part of my life. This is why I will continue to fight for the universal accessibility of all public transportation from the DC Metro to the New York subway and beyond. To me, public transportation means that I will be able to live my own life, and therefore I need it to be accessible. Lack of accessible public transportation means that living in the city is only marginally better than living in the suburbs. Lack of accessible public transportation would shut all the doors that the city opened for me. I will fight for accessible public transportation because it is the key to my freedom, as well as the freedom of hundreds of thousands of others. Without accessible public transportation, I will be perpetually stuck in the suburbs.
