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Today I took a walk around my boyfriend and I’s apartment complex. I have not walked around here in quite some time. I do not have a reason as to why it has been so long. I think I just got caught up in other ways to spend my time. As I walked outside the front door, I was immediately filled with feelings of regret for not taking this walk earlier in the week when the weather was warmer. I am extremely happy that it was not raining, because then I would have been miserable. I do not like the cold weather. I prefer sunshine and warmth.

As I continued on my walk, I was hoping to run into some members of the apartment complex. I do not know anyone that lives here, and the most interaction I have is when my neighbors and I park our cars in the same section. The apartments are right next to 378. It is usually not too noisy, but it has been very loud recently. I can hear every car that drives past. I think this is due to the trees losing their leaves and weakening the sound barrier. I became very distracted by the noises of the cars, but it was comforting at the same time because I do not enjoy being alone with just my thoughts for too long. I feel like my mind is always racing. I have thought about the crunching noise of the leaves when I step on them, calculating how much further I have to walk before I need to make a choice on which path to take, what I will include in this blog, what my mom is up to, and how cold I am. I watched the birds fly over me, and I came across two squirrels racing up a tree. This encounter made me miss home because there is a ton of wildlife. One car drove past me and I felt intimidated. Even though it is a safe community, I felt vulnerable being a woman walking alone. As I looked up at the sky, I appreciated the pattern of the clouds. I found the movement of the clouds to be calming.

As I began to finish my walk and approach my door, I stretched my whole body. My muscles felt tight due to the chilly fall air. I stretched starting at my neck, which is where I carry all of my stress. My back, hips, and legs felt much better after stretching them. I should really stretch every day as a form of self-care. I felt really good about myself for participating in some sort of physical activity in this weather. If it was up to me, I would have been cozy on my couch watching Netflix.

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Today I took a walk around my Level IE fieldwork placement, Freedom High School. I was a bit hesitant to walk farther than a block away from the school because I was alone, and the road I was on was not very busy. As I was walking, I was able to admire the beautiful fall colors of the leaves remaining on the trees and on my path. I was surprised by how quiet it was in the middle of the day. All I could think about is how envious I was of those who lived this close to their school. My bus ride in high school was 45 minutes, and I always dreamed of being able to sleep in and walk across the street. However, I do understand why attendance rates are so low during cold/wet weather. I would not want to walk outside either. The houses seemed like average one family homes. Each house had cut grass and clean yards. The sidewalks were maintained. It seemed like a very nice neighborhood. I began to wonder what salary someone would need to afford to live here. I would imagine in today's economy, it must be higher than the national average. Due to spending time at Freedom, I know that this is a very diverse school. The area in which I walked in does not accurately represent each student's home environment. Freedom's student population comes from varying socioeconomic statuses, which plays a huge role in the type and the location of their home environment. Some students live on main streets in apartment buildings with way more noise and traffic than I experienced today. I thought of how that impacts their ability to effectively be a student.

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This week, I took a walk with someone who we will refer to as “W”. W has a diagnosis of anxiety and depression. W is also a sophomore in college pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. We took a short walk around their campus, and I noticed this beautiful mural pictured above. As we walked, W told me about how hard their classes are this semester. They are taking multiple science and math courses, and have high expectations to meet. They shared that they finally received accommodations for their diagnosis of anxiety. W struggles with testing, and will greatly benefit from the extra time and quiet spaces on their next exam. W has been making more friends this semester, which is a huge accomplishment considering how their social skills were impacted since the COVID-19 pandemic. W has a goal of spending one night a week out with friends instead of staying in and playing video games like they are used to. In the past, it was almost impossible to talk to W about school and mental health. They believed that they could figure it all out on their own and did not want to inconvenience anyone by asking for help. I can tell that since W has been more open and is seeking out resources to help them. I am so proud of W because they are truly growing as a student and a person.