Ursula (12th Grade) 

7 years at Academy 

“When I went to elementary school-I went to elementary school down at New Scotland Elementary-I always walked to school and it was a really regular thing that I did. Then, when I started going to the Academies, I stopped for some reason. I think it was because it was an earlier start to the day, so obviously I couldn’t really. You’re not going to make an 11 year old do that at 7:30 in the morning, so I stopped. And I didn’t start doing it again for a really long time. I stopped during Middle School, but then during the pandemic when we were quarantined, I was really antsy and I hated being at home, so I started going on walks and usually it was around the time that school ended, so around 3:00. After we were able to start going back to school, I realized I didn’t want to lose that part of my day anymore, so I started walking to school again. Since then, I do it almost every day, and it’s really nice and I’m probably not going to stop for a while. I know that not a lot of people do it, and everyone has their unique commute, but there’s something really special about it because I’m really excited to leave school and leave Albany, but it’s like an eight minute walk and that time is really my time. I listen to music or reflect on my day, and I’ve noticed that a lot of the time when I don’t walk to school, I have a really bad day. I think it’s a nice time. It’s a special time for me, and also I think that at school, I just feel really wrapped up in myself and my experiences and I get really stressed and distracted just because I’m so stressed. But walking becomes a very meditative thing where I’m very aware of what’s going on around me and I stop thinking about the things I want to think about. It’s been a good practice and I think that it sets me up to have a more aware and conscious day that isn’t just being stressed and angry all the time.” 

*Ursi nominates Poem in grade 9 to share her story*