Some Hallway Etiquette

I’ve really enjoyed my four years at Uni. I love the people, the education, the atmosphere, and the liberty. I don’t have many complaints about the school, but there’s one thing that really bugs me, and it hasn’t gotten better as the years have gone by. What really annoys me is Uni’s hallways during passing periods.

I’m going to start out by saying that this is just my general views and opinions on what I’ve seen throughout my past four years at this school. I’m also going to admit that I have done some of the things that I’m going to mention below, but I’ve gotten better in being more considerate about how I move across Uni’s busy halls.

My two main complaints about Uni hallways during passing periods:

1. There’s always someone that walks SO slowly down the middle of the hallway, right in the middle of the passing period. You know what? It doesn’t even bug me that they’re walking slowly. I don’t judge them because they might’ve just gotten back from fitness, they’re conserving energy for a sport commitment they have in the afternoon, or are just tired. I understand, I’ve been through that a lot. I just wish that they could just move over to the edge of the hall and not block anyone else’s path. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to maneuver around someone, but haven’t been able to because that person just won’t move over to let me pass by and there’s no more room anywhere else. More times than I can count I’ve had to do the awkward half-walk/ half-jog around that person, or people, to then speed walk to my next class. And I realize that no one does it on purpose, because if I asked anyone, I know they would kindly move aside. Maybe it’s just that they have a lot of things on their mind (teenagers tend to have that), or they're just focusing all of their energy on getting from point A to point B, and they forget a little about their surroundings.

2. There’s always someone that’s walking efficiently down the hall and sporadically they choose to stop and start talking to their friends in the middle of the hall, not letting anyone through. I’m totally for conversing with friends, I know there might be something essential that you forgot to tell them, but please, like I said before, just move over or save it for later. Whatever you have to say to your friend, nine times out of ten, it can wait. And if you do find yourself needing to stop, move quickly out of the middle of the hallway. Now, it you are on the stairs, dear god, do not stop and talk to your friends! It makes walking up or down each floor so much harder, and for those of us that are less coordinated (like myself) it can actually be dangerous. Save it for when you are finished climbing the stairs.

I know in the scheme of things it’s not a huge issue, but it is something that, at times, has really irritated me. It’s not all the time, but maybe there’s just that one person that almost made me late to my class because they didn’t move over just a little to let me go by, or that other person that almost made me trip because they just chose to stop walking. Basically I wanted to emphasize how we should be more considerate as we move through our small school. Let's have some hallway etiquette, for our sake and for that of others.

As I swim

I push off of the wall into the water and completely submerge myself. For the tiniest fraction of a second the only thing I can see are bubbles. As I breathe out, I can feel them stroking my face, they are so little and delicate. But their presence is just as quickly forgotten as my body recognizes the that fact that the pool’s temperature doesn't coincide with the way I’m feeling. I’m still very sleepy, it being five thirty in the morning and all, and the water feels like ice on my skin. I instantly wish that I was still at home under the covers, warm and resting. I know that everyone else wants to go to sleep just as much as I do, but this is the only time we can practice during the week. I love swimming, but getting in is always the hardest part because you don’t except the pool to be cold, but it always is.

Swimming vigorously for the next couple seconds I try to warm up, my thoughts slowly becoming more and more coherent. After the first lap I settle into a comfortable pace. I attempt to use what little concentration I have on counting my laps for the warm-up, but my mind wanders. I think about my arms moving through the water, my goggles slowly begin to fog up and my cap starts shifting higher and higher on my forehead. My eyes start roaming restlessly. I can see the lifeguard and the flags out of the corner of my eye. My gaze shifts to the bottom of the pool. The tiles are gray and old, and the water looks bluer. I look over at the lane beside mine and I don’t know who it is, but I can see them ahead of me. I decide to catch up with them to not finish the warm-up last. 

Suddenly something in my brain starts telling me that I’m reaching the end of the pool. I tilt my head up slightly for confirmation. I watch the wall get closer and closer, and I instinctively calculate how many more strokes I can take before I have to do a flip turn. Somersaulting lightly I look to the lane beside me to see if we are going at the same pace. I push off the wall, and I notice that the water feels warmer now. I wonder what type of workout we’ll have today. I forgot to check the workout sheet laid out, but I’ll just look at it in a second. I have one quarter lap left and I kick harder. The wall gets closer and I reach out with one hand to grasp the edge. When I touch the wall I immediately stand up, a little out of breath. Good, I’m done with the warm-up! I look at the workout sheet and take a deep breath, readying myself for the next hour and fifteen minutes.