Krystina Morgan photo
Danaisha Wheeler is riding the bus to get a job — and some new ink.
When she finally gets the job she has been searching for, Wheeler plans to start saving for some tattoos to decorate her thigh. She already has a dove with her brother’s name, “Shawn,” on her collarbone.
“I just want a huge tattoo that covers my whole thigh,” said Wheeler, a student at Gateway Community College. “I’m not exactly sure what I want on it yet. I need a main theme and just go from there, maybe find some cute designs.”
But first she needs the job.
Wheeler’s mom dropped her off at the Sylvan Avenue bus stop last week so she could take the 3:45 p.m. bus on Route 6 to the Trumbull Westfield Mall to apply for a job at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Wheeler has been looking for a job for the past six months. She used to work at Plato’s Closet in Orange.
“I usually take the bus to go on interviews or to apply for other jobs,” said Wheeler. “It’s my only way of transportation for the moment.”
Normally, Wheeler takes the bus from a stop on the Route 9 line, which is closer to her house. That requires a connection in downtown Bridgeport in order to pick up a bus to take her to the mall.
But this particular Sunday, Wheeler’s mother had to pick up some things from Food Bazaar, which is across the street from the Route 6 bus on Sylvan Avenue. So her mother dropped her off at the Route 6 stop. That bus would take Wheeler directly to the Trumbull Mall.
“I hate having to take transfers because then it’ll take me an hour to get to the mall,” said Wheeler, “but this bus is nice because it will take me straight to the mall in like a half hour.”
Wheeler lives with her mother and her younger brother. She prefers to have a job while going to college to keep her busy and to help her mother pay for the classes at Gateway.
“I just need a job,” said Wheeler, “and I need money! I need lots of money for tattoos! I want so many tattoos.”
The CT Bus Diaries project is a collaboration between the New Haven Independent, the Valley Independent Sentinel and students from the multimedia journalism class at Southern Connecticut State University. The students are blogging about experiences on CT Transit’s bus lines in order to give a glimpse into the commutes of the people using the bus system.
Share your CT Transit experiences with us by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) photos or videos to Jodie Mozdzer Gil or tagging #CTBusDiaries on Twitter posts.
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