The Benefits of Walking

Recently, I couldn’t ignore the banshee like sound my brakes made every time I pulled up to a stop sign. My friend called me the other day when I was approaching her house. “Hey, sounds like you’re about five minutes away, I need more like ten, if that’s ok?” I told my Mom this story, and she then insisted I take it into the shop. “ What? But I wanted to go to Wawa, what am I supposed to do?” “ It’s called walking,” she said. “ Mom, it’s like 5 miles away.” “It’s more like one, and you go on that elliptical everyday. You can’t walk a mile?” This is a woman who walks everywhere, whose car has 50,000 less miles than mine and is around the same age. I decided to take her advice (she had a small point), and walk. It was effortless: I was listening to my ipod, cutting back on emissions and getting in shape. I really do enjoy walking, ( especially around Europe, where renting a car was completely out of the question), just not to a store ten minutes away. But now I’m re-thinking my attachment to my car and realizing it’s completely unhealthy.I would rather not refer to myself as lazy, but when I live a couple blocks from Wawa and insist on driving I have to admit the action reeks of lethargy. It’s not that I don’t enjoy driving cars anymore, I just don’t enjoy driving my car. It’s constantly causing me strife: oil leaks, a squeaky break, broken windshield wipers, claims it can reach mythical speeds. So why do I continue driving it? My boyfriend from high school once challenged that my car could go up to 90 mph- I protested, but he did it anyway, and I admitted defeat. The next day I was rounding a corner when the entire bottom of my car fell out in the middle of the road. Ever since then my car has gone to shambles. This summer I’m going to give it a break and start walking short distances. That way that iced coffee can be enjoyed in the heat during the walk back- the way it was supposed to be enjoyed-as opposed to nestled in the cup holder of my car.