What does your walk say about you?

Posted On 9:56 AM |

Since joining the downtown rat race eight months ago, I have rekindled my passion for people-watching. I love observing people and pretending I know exactly why they behave they way they do in front of my face. It's the psychology drop-out in me I guess...

Let me share with you three walkers I enjoyed watching recently:

The Olympian

She pounces out of nowhere and does this forward-lean with the top half of her body, her heels making full contact with the ground with each step, so it's still technically a walk but, man, does she ever boot it. Her hand is always tightly clutching the straps of her bag while it hangs on her shoulder and she is so focussed on her destination that you can almost imagine her mumbling to herself the litany of daily tasks she is already late starting.

The Fairy

There is an emoticon for the face I made when I saw this chick walk. The lightness of her fluttery gait indicates her youth. Her skipping (at 7am in a train station, no less) and the rotating torso motion (each shoulder takes a turn flying forward) makes her manually-curled hair bob and swing. While it's a bit amusing to watch (sort of like how over-scratching an itch is a guilty pleasure), I can't imagine her being taken seriously once she finishes floating to her office.

The Man

I don't call her this because she is masculine. She has beautifully coloured and sculpted hair, very nice clothes, all that stuff. Each step is very intentional and confident - she's the man. One arm swings back and forth and her head bobs ever-so-slightly while she walks. I mistook this confident attitude for arrogance the first time I saw her, but later that day I saw her again and she almost missed her train or something, so I knew that she was still just as human as the rest of us. We all have our moments, I suppose. Something about her tells me that the success that oozes out of each deliberate footprint was attained through very hard work.
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1 Response to 'What does your walk say about you?'
  1. Rachel
    http://leiskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-does-your-walk-say-about-you.html?showComment=1196428080000#c1688897502062630531'> November 30, 2007 at 8:08 AM

    I wonder if you're talking about me since I commute with you everyday! But I know i'm not the fairy because you pointed her out to me the other morning! :-)