Walking, Thinking, Writing

In our first class, we were each assigned a specific perspective to focus on during a silent group walk. As this was the first activity we did together, many of us found it challenging. We were instructed to take notes only related to our assigned role and avoid straying from that focus. I was assigned to pay attention to the sounds around me. As someone who usually walks while listening to music, this task felt slightly daunting. I rely on music to fill the silence, so being told to walk without it and without any technology made me uncomfortable at first. We were also required to walk in complete silence as a group, which felt strange. It was a group of about ten people, mostly strangers, walking together around a part of campus we had all been familiar with for at least a year.

At the beginning of the walk, I struggled to focus only on sound and not get distracted by my own thoughts. However, after about five minutes of walking through the falling snow, I began to notice how many sounds I normally overlook. I heard the crunch of everyone’s shoes against the ground, especially Shannon’s heeled boots clicking along the sidewalk. I noticed the wind moving through the trees and the leaves on the ground. As cars passed by, I could faintly hear music coming from them, each one reflecting different personalities of the drivers. Focusing on sound in this way changed how I was walking, it slowed me down and made me more intentional, almost as if I was listening my way through the space rather than simply moving through it.

Eventually, my mind began to drift again when I felt like I had run out of new sounds to focus on. I started observing myself and my classmates. We were all breathing shallowly in the cold, with slight shivers. Snow clung to my sherpa jacket, and everyone had snowflakes dusting their hair. Even in silence, there was still a shared experience among us, which I might not have noticed if I had been distracted.

Toward the end of the walk, the bell rang, signaling that another hour had passed. The sound felt louder than usual, breaking the quiet atmosphere we had been in. This exercise made me realize how much I miss while walking simply because I block out my surroundings with music. It also showed me how focusing on just one aspect of my environment can completely change the way I experience a familiar space, making me more present and aware of what is around me.


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