Critical Reflection 2

Directions: describe a moment and analyze: “Write about a single experience or moment, and ask: how does this moment, experience, or encounter relate to my essential question?”

• You can also compare it with learning experiences you have had elsewhere, whether in or out of a classroom, at LREI or elsewhere.

I was on a long walk, through prospect park, and I began to feel the ground and dirt beneath my feet. In some part of my mind, I remembered the long walks I used to take in freshman year, and then the walks I took my junior year in quarantine. Looking back, I reflect on the way that walking has been such an important part of my life, especially in my teenage years. I also remember my parents would always take us on walks and hikes growing up, so I wonder if some part of me is drawn to a sense of my childhood. I think walking has been what has kept me sane in the tribulation of high school stress. I used to take long walks in DC when I needed a moment away. I would play music in my headphones and go outside with my dog, Lulu, and walk for miles, watching the sunset and night start to peek in, I became lost in the music and in amazement at the natural world. It was as if suddenly all my problems didn’t exist, walking seemed to be the peace of mind I needed. Three years later, I would be living in an apartment in downtown NYC in a global pandemic, having nowhere to go but out on walks. I walked for miles on the pier along with my dog during this time period, only to preserve my sanity. I felt the wind on my face brush off the feelings of fear, anger, sadness, and felt the river rejuvenated me with a new feeling- one of hope, or maybe even just of being. I think the biggest theme in Thoreau’s book is letting go of yourself, of one’s problems and one’s desires, of one’s own idea of what they need or what they want or what they deserve or don’t deserve. I think walking is about letting yourself simply BE. Whatever that may mean.