Lizzie Rumpz, ’13
[audio:https://www.arlingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lizzie-rumpz-podcast.mp3|titles=Lizzie Rumpz Podcast]
Everyone has a pet peeve, whether it’s obnoxious gum smacking or nails on a chalkboard. Either way, there is a problem that is recurring in all schools, malls, and other public facilities — slow walkers. Not only are they extremely annoying, yet the worst can happen — they make you late to class. Having too many tardies can amount to detentions — and no one wants those. When hindered by an obnoxious walker, there are many techniques about getting around the tough obstacle and away to reach freedom.
One way many people use to rid themselves of the pesky walkers is a simple bypass. By walking quickly around in a somewhat semi circle ending in front of the walkers will offer you free range of motion and the ability to speed walk to your heart’s desire. By executing this method fearlessly and quickly, the walker won’t even know what hit ‘em. The key to this procedure is practiced skill and absolutely no eye contact. By not looking the walker in the eye, they may think you were catching up to a friend, or possibly walking over to twirl your locker combination. One thing is for sure — you do not want unneeded screaming matches to attract attention in the hallway.
Stories vary from student to student, but many can unfortunately say they were ridiculed as a freshmen. Slow freshmen are understandable — a new school with new classrooms, surroundings and people are likely to distract a person. Yet, freshmen everywhere are consistently ridiculed by their peers for a multitude of reasons. One of those is, sadly, being labeled as a “slow walker.” A warning should be issued to new freshmen entering the high school, posters taped upon the wall beckoning to pick up the pace. Maybe this problem can be solved with a simple, polite “excuse me.” As for the meantime, whether you are a freshmen or a senior, please do students everywhere a favor — walk faster!!