Walking to class keeps you healthy, does your body good
COMMENTARY

Co-News Editor Jessica Sanders is a senior news-editorial journalism major from San Antonio.

This afternoon, I found out that high-heeled shoes are not made for walking.

I resentfully trekked what seemed like a mile from my remote parking space to the Moudy building, thinking only of the time that was wasted because I couldn’t find a closer spot.

But as I walked, I began to notice things that so easily escape me from the car — The entertaining bumper stickers on cars parked along the street, the rustle of autumn leaves, a stray cat about to fall face-first into a trash can. Yes, the little things of life that are so easily missed from the driver’s seat of a car.

For me, a good walk functions as a coffee break for the brain. When work, school and life are too stressful, a walk provides a respectable excuse to temporarily run away and contemplate the color of the sky. It is a chance to chat with neighbors, befriend dogs and become part of the scenery we so easily ignore.

My friends who have traveled abroad say they marveled at how Europeans walk everywhere. When gas prices are high, public transportation is good and streets are pedestrian-friendly. Traveling on foot just makes sense.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, choosing to walk instead of drive to places like the store and school helps reduce the air pollution created by unnecessary automobile use.

Sadly, many American cities are so spread out that, unless you like skipping down the freeway, walking everywhere is pretty much out of the question.

So, for many of us, that leaves walking for recreation. Fort Worth has a number of excellent running trails, such as those along the Trinity River, that provide a wonderful place to get exercise and contemplate life.

Nutrition instructor Chris Ranelle said walking is an excellent way to burn calories, and that taking a stroll outside is better exercise than plodding on a treadmill.

“Your body has to adapt to changes in temperature and landscape; you have to walk uphill or run away from a dog,” Ranelle said. “You never know what the day will bring.”

Save yourself some gas and walk to Albertson’s. Stroll around our lovely campus instead of running on a treadmill like a human hamster. And, this might sound rash, but park far away and check out some of those witty bumper stickers as you walk to class. For your own good and the good of the planet, take a hike.