Every school day, hundreds of Cleveland Metropolitan School District high schoolers use free bus passes provided by the district to get around the city. Chardon Black is one of them. He graduates from the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine on June 7. He鈥檚 been thinking back about all the time he鈥檚 spent on the bus.
As my last year of high school comes to a close, I鈥檝e reflected on a lot. Asking myself questions like:
鈥淗ow did I get here?鈥�
鈥淲ho do I need to thank in my graduation speech?鈥�
鈥淗ow do I want to give back to the community?鈥�
One of the most shocking of all my reflections wasn鈥檛 anything to do with school, but rather, how I got there.
For the past three years, like hundreds of other high schoolers who get a free bus pass from Cleveland Metropolitan School District, I鈥檝e taken the bus to and from school basically every single day. Sitting in those blue seats and staring out the foggy windows has done more than just bore me but developed me into the dedicated scholar I am today. Here鈥檚 how.
Personal finances
I vividly remember being told at the beginning of my 10th-grade year (COVID took my 9th) by my mom that she wouldn鈥檛 be driving me to school every day and that I鈥檇 have to 鈥渢ake the bus like everybody else.鈥� The fact was, at the time at least, my family couldn鈥檛 afford to get me a car or even pay for driving school. I hated that. I鈥檇 always unconsciously felt the stigma around using the bus. That it was 鈥渟melly;鈥� that people on it were rude; and that I鈥檇 never be able to find a seat.
And yet, I had to swallow my pride, swipe my fare, and hope I鈥檇 find a seat before the bus driver sped off.
As a result, taking the bus for the next three years taught me the value of overcoming financial inequities. I didn鈥檛 need a car to go places. I didn鈥檛 need a car to explore the world.
In a sense, I was set up for success. I had to humble myself. Taking the bus taught me that money wasn鈥檛 going to be the deciding factor of my life.
I didn鈥檛 need a car to become valedictorian, I just needed the motivation to get up and catch the 48 bus on time every morning.
I didn鈥檛 need a driver鈥檚 license to get into Princeton, just the dedication to deal with the occasional loud group of students on the bus.
Swallowing my pride and accepting the financial situation I was in allowed me to blossom into someone who is deeply motivated and willing to work hard to overcome challenges.
Autonomy and independence
In addition, I鈥檝e found myself enjoying an extreme level of independence, autonomy and control over my life by taking the bus. I don鈥檛 just take the bus to and from school. I take it to parties, community events, social activities, after-school and weekend engagements and more. I don鈥檛 need to beg my mom to drive me anywhere, because I can get there myself 鈥� as long as I figure out how to use the app.
Before I became fluent in bus riding, I was dependent on others who were blessed with a driver's license to chauffeur me around. Taking the bus has taught me the value of finding my way, both literally and figuratively. As a result, I鈥檝e applied that same philosophy to many parts of my life.
I constantly think to myself 鈥淗ow can I do this in a manner that is unique, independent and in a lane of its own?鈥� or 鈥淗ow can I minimize the amount of effort on this while also maximizing its success?鈥� And that鈥檚 what I believe has led to my success.
Reflection time
Some of the highest and lowest points of my life have been followed by taking the bus. Victories in mock trials, big exams and class fundraisers; like clockwork, I鈥檓 sitting right back on the bus. Heartbreak, familial losses and personal failure; like clockwork, I鈥檓 sitting right back on the bus. It鈥檚 taught me something that I carry with me every day:
"Life moves too fast."
"We move too fast."
Before I became fluent in bus riding, I was dependent on others who were blessed with a driver's license to chauffeur me around. Taking the bus has taught me the value of finding my way, both literally and figuratively.Chardon Black
Sometimes, in my experience, things just seem to go, go, go. Never stop grinding, never take a break, never process your emotions and your experiences. And, as I have observed, that鈥檚 dangerous. I鈥檝e watched people get trapped in a continuous cycle of danger, self-sabotage, and pain because they never take a second to truly think about their lives and the things they鈥檝e done. But the bus forces me to do that, every single day.
I have to sit on the bus for (at least) 30 minutes twice a day, no matter what. And while I could just spend the time scrolling through my TikTok feed, I鈥檝e found solace in simply staring out the window and reflecting.
I tell myself things like, today was a good day because 鈥︹�� or 鈥淚 need to do better at 鈥� because ... .鈥� That 30 minutes of peace, of thinking, allows me to become a better man because I鈥檓 truly developing myself based on my experiences. I鈥檝e sat on the bus and planned scholarships, accepted heartbreaks and, overall, connected with my spirit at a level most people don鈥檛 have the opportunity to do.
Though I鈥檝e had some iffy experiences (like falling face-first out of the door onto the sidewalk), I wouldn鈥檛 change a thing. The biggest lesson I鈥檝e learned is that in life you are dealt a set of cards. Some cards are better, some cards are worse. But every day, it鈥檚 your job to get up and do the best you can with the cards you鈥檝e been dealt.
Though I am currently in the process of getting my license, I couldn鈥檛 be more grateful for the bus card I鈥檝e had all these years.
Chardon Black is one of 161 students nationwide to be named a U.S. Presidential Scholar.
This column is part of a student blog project he鈥檚 worked on for the past three years, overseen by 蜜桃导航 Reporter Conor Morris and CMSD's Gayle Gadison.