As I prepare to leave my house for more or less the first time since March and finally move into Lafayette, I can’t help but reflect on how I’ve spent the ten months since then.
Nearly every day, even when the weather was bad or I wasn’t really in the mood, I went on walks because, well, there wasn’t much else to do. It felt like a grand excursion to break up the monotony of daily life. Usually I’d be with my mom and our dog Milo tugging at the leash, eager to sniff every branch and overturn any suspicious-looking leaf or stick. Sometimes I’d be with a friend, safely catching up and talking about what was happening in our lives. After so many steps logged in my Apple Watch, it seems like a lot of the decisions I’ve made over the last few months have probably been thought out on these walks, and I don’t think I’m alone in that.
There’s something cathartic about being in nature, a break from staring at a screen all day and the same walls of my house. It was also nice to get some movement in my day, even if only for a half hour, as I couldn’t exercise as I would normally because of an issue with my hips. Stepping outside really can change your mood, shift your perspective, and maybe even grant you some clarity in this muddled world, if only for a moment. One thing’s for sure: I understand a bit better why my mom has always insisted that I get outside for twenty minutes a day and feel the sun on my skin.
I hope that even beyond the seemingly never-ending days in my house, which are in fact coming to a close in a few short days (by the time this is published I’ll already be there), I can keep going on walks for the sake of walking, not to get to one destination or the other. They undoubtedly contribute to our physical and mental well-being and have become part of my routine in a time when routine seems more like something you have to strive for, rather than a standard, kept in place by the bounds of school and other activities from our lives prior to the pandemic. Once classes are in full swing, I know it will be harder to make the time to get outside beyond the trip to class or the dining hall when I’d rather be watching Netflix. But maybe this article can hold me accountable and give me – and maybe you – the motivation to continue to incorporate more movement into my days.