Walking

Hello, all,

I took my first walk/jog in Simi today. It was almost surreal to me. Everything here is so beautiful - almost too beautiful. It reminded me of my walks around LMU, back in the day. And so I post another installment of writings from the past. I hope you enjoy!
~Kristin

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"Carmen"

I walk this route every day for exercise, for sport, just because, in a sense. There’s a hill at the end of the route that I walk, alone every day. It usually requires a lot of self-motivation and always leaves me short of breath. I walk this route every day alone. I work hard, I think hard, trying to improve my well-being. Well today I met a girl named Carmen walking up that hill only about 15 feet to the left of where I was. She wore a backpack and I watched her peppy gait and tried to keep up. “Think objectively now,” I told myself. “There’s a girl walking alongside of you with no one else around. If this were anywhere else you’d say hello.” She closed in the gap and walked closer to me, now almost at my side. How strange not to say a word when we’re about to climb this hill together. “Where do you walk from?” Simple enough. We talk and walk about school and exercise. When she leaves me (“Which way are you going?” “Well, I’m going this way.” “Hope to see you around, Carmen.” It was nice meeting you. Nice to meet you, too.) I barely remember climbing that hill, the hill I climb alone every day. The hill of thought, of feelings stirring up inside, sometimes released. Tears often shed in the guise of sweat. The hill I climb alone, where no one sees me but the security guy at the gate. Carmen climbed with me today. I don’t feel like I got a workout. Usually I hate that. I need to feel worked, to feel tired, to sweat tears. Thing is, my muscles still danced after I came back from my walk. Sweat still poured. I still got my dose of exercise. What a different route it was with Carmen there. Same one I take every day, but this time I wasn’t alone. Tomorrow I’ll walk the route again, and, inevitably, that hill. My friends think I’m looney for doing this every day. “You’ll be in shape by the end of the year” Carmen says. Only if I can share my walk with people like you, Carmen.

I don’t like to take people with me who are amateur walkers. But Carmen’s been walking and she knows how to walk and if we happen to walk a similar route, all the better for me.

...

"Carmen 2"

The next time you wake up in your first-class dorm room, yawning away a mid-week hangover, and you decide to skip that 8:00 class, I hope she walks by your window carrying her backpack. Because, you see, she takes the bus here from Beverly Hills every day (well, Hollywood this morning) and she’ll be sitting in your 8 o’clock class, maybe even in your seat. And when the time comes for that midterm and you grace the class with your presence 2 days before the exam, don’t go asking her for her notes. Because, you see, she comes all the way from Beverly Hills and this is her only class today.

- Kristin Firestone, 10/1/98