What a mix of emotions looking back at my post from March 11, 2020, linked here, elicited! In that post, I talked about the many benefits I got from walking my dog. We lost Tuukka in January of 2024, and I miss him. I also wrote that post while thinking about my upcoming trip to Poland. Not only did the trip not happen then, but it also didn't happen for me when we rescheduled for March of 2023. While the reasons for the two cancellations were different, both represent major turning points in my life. In any case, today's Why Walk post is entirely different, and it's about the Class of 2025, who are nine days away from their Hotchkiss graduation. Exciting days.
Above, I share my photo of the dining hall's Leaning Tower of Tree-sa to get you into the holiday spirit. (MW, please don't be annoyed. I still think the photo is funny, even if the tree got fixed.)
Rather than make guesses about the busy and celebratory week ahead, I wanted to ponder a different class celebration we had last December. One of my favorite holiday traditions is Senior Caroling, when the whole grade gathers at the Head of School's house for snacks and then goes dorm-to-dorm to sing to the younger students. This year, as I trailed the 2025s during this event, I was surprised by how many of them ran from one place to the next.
Let me be clear:
- It was dark and slippery outside, but not particularly cold.
- We didn't have a time limit, so the longer we spent singing and walking, the later the kids could check in for the night.
- The dorms weren't going anywhere.
For the life of me, I couldn't then and still can't now figure out why some of them wanted to run. One student told me that some kids wanted to stand at the front of the pack to sing each carol, but then why stop singing halfway through a song to race to the next audience? Another 2025 told me that it had something to do with feeling competitive. I wonder, what's the competition? What's the prize? How do we know who wins?
The more I think about that night, the odder it seems to me that anyone would want to run, but I do come away with a few conclusions I'll share.
- Our brains all work differently. I can't know what you're thinking unless we communicate honestly and openly. And even then, sometimes, we won't agree.
- Walking and running serve very different purposes in my life. While I love my thrice-weekly morning jogs, I do not feel a need to zoom through the rest of my life.
- I'm not in a hurry. Life's good right now if I take the time to enjoy it.
Have you had the opportunity to consider the ways your brain and other people's process the world differently recently? Please share any observations in the comments.