Likewise, because my schedule is fairly consistent, I see many of the same people every day who happen to go to work at the same time that my bus passes their neighborhood. In my neighborhood, one associates working with a relatively comfortable commute by car; more importantly, in my community, one generally works until traditional retirement age and then retires to enjoy a few decades of leisure. During my daily commute, I notice more than a few individuals who appear to be much older than my (retired) grandparents trudging through the snow in many layers of very old- looking clothes. They appear to be going to work, but it is difficult to imagine what they do for a living at their age and in their frail physical condition. Thinking about their lives, and especially the fact that it seems they must work their entire lives just to survive, sometimes puts...

This is something I find myself most aware of when I go from watching those less fortunate to a school environment where everyone is more concerned with the latest clothing fashions or what kind of car they hope to get from their parents when they start driving.
In that respect, my bus commute makes me appreciate aspects of my own life, but at the same time, it makes me question some of my values and it highlights the inequalities that obviously still exist, even in American society.