I Walk to School

From the pen of 18-year-old Dan, applying to college:

     I walk to school. I’ve been a walker every day since I was five, wobbling up the hill to Williams-Cone Elementary. And now, though the high school is a little over a mile away, I still make the ceremonious trek every morning.

     I appreciate the solidarity, the exercise, and the chance to observe. I enjoy seeing if the only two car dealerships in town have a new model on display, when the Dairy Queen stand has opened for the season, or how the construction of the new town hall is coming along. But most of all, I love my current route from Elm Street to Mt. Ararat High School because of the little things I get to notice along the way.

     My former English teacher Mr. Brassil, for example, drives the exact same car as Mrs. Brassil, only they drive to school separately, directly behind each other, every morning. Also, in the winter months the Volvo dealership in Topsham neglects to salt their entrance driveway, leaving those who walk across it susceptible to slip and fall (as I discovered just a few weeks ago). And most obviously, drivers as a whole are disconnected with the world.

     But who can blame them? The idea of staring just at the road in front of you is something I find intrinsically ignorant. How can people ever take the time notice what is around them? On the road, all people see is the pavement. On the sidewalk, I see the world. This daily act of observing, discovering, and being in the midst of the action is what truly excites me.

     The desire to be in places where I can absorb my surroundings is something I think defines me as a person: I don’t appreciate reading books about the culture in China as much as I do living with a host family there; I don’t see as much value in studying philosophical writings as I do in learning from life experiences themselves; and I don’t feel the same sense of fulfillment and awareness in driving to school as I do walking. I am always trying to place myself in environments that encourage the engagement of thought, and I appreciate the little things I get to notice along the way.

     So the next time you are in your car, notice what is around. If you look hard enough, you’ll see a guy walking on the sidewalk. Maybe this is his first time. Maybe he has been doing it since he was five. In any case, he is seeing the world.