Picture this:

You are on your way to class, walking through the hustle and bustle of the Staples hallways.  As you talk to your friends or even text while you walk, you are only vaguely aware of what’s going on around you.

Then all of a sudden, just as you are about to finish your sentence, a gust of wind blows by that scruffs your hair and causes you to look in all directions.  “Since when do I feel drafts on the second floor of Staples?” you think.

Is it a bird? A plane?

No.

It’s a freshman sprinting as fast as their legs can take them so they can make it to class before the dreaded bell sounds.

We’ve all seen it before.  Arms pumping, oversized backpack thrashing, eyebrows crinkled in fear.

And as much as we, the upperclassmen, hate to admit it, we’ve all probably done it once or twice when we were just freshmen.

So before I add my two cents about how freshmen should walk in the hallways, let it be known that I was once a freshman, too.  I was among the ones with a backpack way too big for me, and a genuine fear of being late to class.

With that said, I wish someone had told me this simple sentence before my first week of school:

If you’re late, you’re late.

Sprinting that last hallway leg isn’t going to justify the blood, sweat and tears that it took in order for you to arrive fifteen seconds earlier than you would have otherwise.

A solution? Pace yourself.  If you can’t make it to class without sprinting for a section of your walk, then walk faster.  Nothing’s worse than slow walkers anyway, which even the kids new to the school have probably picked up on by now.

If it is absolutely necessary to sprint to class, then do it when no one else is in the hallway.  This makes it easier for you, as there are no other students there to get in your way.   And frankly, if there are more than 15 people in the hallway, then you probably aren’t even late anyway and it really isn’t necessary to take the 100-yard dash.

Freshmen, don’t take these words of advice the wrong way.  You’re at the beginning of your four years at Staples, and before you know it, you’ll be ordering your senior sweatshirt, too.

Running is a nuisance to those around you, and it is hardly ever necessary. So slow down and enjoy those five minutes in the hallways. You don’t need to rush.