McKinley Park
This week I took a walk in my neighborhood park, McKinley Park. Even though this park is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from my house, I rarely go there, but every time I do, it is a new experience.
MY WALK MAP
As I sat and took in the scenery, I heard a lot of nature. Very little did I hear any kind of man made object like airplanes or traffic and exhaust from cars. Almost every sound I heard was natural, and the people who showed up to this little lake, did not come with excitement, they were there to relax.
OBJECTS
One object that caught my attention was the fishing poles that the people who hung out around the lake used. On the other side of this little lake, you could see families pitching up small picnic areas and getting their bait ready for fishing. On my side of the lake, two young men tried to fish as well. During my time reflecting on the scenery, I heard one of the boys call out “I caught one!” and even though the lake was strictly catch and release, I understood that fishing in this small body of water was a neighborhood and family activity that didn’t need many accessories. A simple picnic and fishing equipment was all a family needed to have a good time.
Another object that caught my attention was actually a little duck. I noticed the whole time I sat at the edge of the lake, there was only one white duck. All across the water were many ducks and geese, all with dark feathers. The only other variation was a rare appearance of a dark feathered duck with a green neck. It wasn’t until the end of my time at the lake when one other white duck appeared out of nowhere. I assumed the bread the little girl and her father were throwing in the lake attracted more foul, but I was surprised to see in a flock of foul, there was little in the way of diversity.
Does a walk through Chicago’s street soothe you, induce stress, or produce some other emotional response? Why? Are there certain kinds of streets or places in the city that produce these emotional responses? Where, when, how, and why?
Walking through Chicago evokes a different response from me based on my reason for walking. I find that when I walk for pleasure, and wander through the city, I feel soothed. I do not worry about the dangers of the neighborhood I am in, whether I am in a fairly decent neighborhood or a more dangerous one. I think that when someone walks for pleasure or to have an impromptu experience, there is a bigger sense of confidence and I think it is because they feel in charge of their walk. When you walk just to walk, there’s no set time limit, no deadline or arrival time. There is no rush to where you’re going so you can experience your walk fully and take control of how you feel about your walk. When I have a destination to my walk, I tend to be more stressed out. I worry about what route is most effective and my calves burn trying to get to my destination quickly. When I have an intention to my walk, I find that I’m more cautious of the people around me. I am more critical of who might hurt me or steal from me, I think it may be because I want to ensure I get to my destination with everything I need and don’t want to be unprepared in any way. Where I am in Chicago does not evoke any particular emotional response, I think my emotional response to my walk is solely based on intention vs attention because if I’m walking with attention, I feel in control and have confidence. When I walk with intention, I’m too nervous about getting to where I need to be that all of my walls are up and I am fear stricken.
