To my friends walking behind me:
Yes, I have a FitBit on my wrist. No, that is not the reason I am speed-walking to classes. This is my normal, everyday pace for going places. Why do you have a problem with that? I know you’re probably frustrated with my long legs, but I’m perfectly content with keeping the speed of a slow-moving car. I walk this fast for the sake of my sanity. I’ve got places to go, people to see, and tasks to accomplish, and I believe it's important to be on time for all of it. Something in my genetic makeup creates a sense of urgency the minute I need to walk somewhere, regardless of my destination -- although I have discovered I walk faster when food is involved. But what’s wrong with being time-efficient? My long strides assure me that I will have ample time to get to the places that are necessary. In the long run (no pun intended) that helps lower my stress levels.
My quick pace is a part of who I am, and I’ll be honest, I cannot stand slow walkers. So instead of telling me to slow down, why don’t you hurry up? It takes all my power to walk alongside you when you walk so slowly! But as soon as I start to walk faster, the comments ensue from behind me. Please don’t tell me to slow down or make comments under your breath to someone else. I’m aware of my speed, and it’s a little offensive when you make comments about my fast walking. I feel like your comments emphasize something bigger than just my walking speed. Studies have shown that people who walk faster are confident, courageous, and go-getters in life. Would you tell me to stop striving toward a goal or have less confidence in myself? I didn’t think so.
It’s not that I don’t want to walk with you. Your speed is fine -- for you -- but I don’t want to walk that slowly. It is literal torture for me to walk alongside you, knowing I could arrive at my destination so much earlier. I’m pretty sure it take more of my energy to shorten my strides because I have to stop and calculate how small my steps need to be in order to stay in your speed range. On the other hand, I don’t expect you to break into a jog to try to keep up with me -- you’ll only complain about how tired you are if I did. I’m content with the staggered walk we have going, so don’t expect me to slow my role for the sake of walking next to you; either way, one of us is going to be frustrated.
As far as solving this problem is concerned, I think we should learn to work with each other. If you stop the comments, I’ll work extremely hard to make my stride less than a yard when I walk with you. If we can’t work something out, maybe we can look at the benefits of walking at different speeds. I’ll always give you a heads-up when there’s a crack in the sidewalk, and you’ll tell me if my backpack is unzipped, deal?
Sincerely,
Your long-legged friend
