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What Long Walks Mean to Me

As I am approaching the late years of adolescence, I start considering childhood memories that mean a lot to me. What sparked this chain of recollections was when my mom told me puzzles are an important symbol of who I am. Unlike a particular event, the memories of puzzles are not monumental but still meaningful to me. They didn't happen on some special day. Instead, they occurred many times over years.

Like puzzles, long walks mean a lot to me, specifically the ones during childhood. During spring or summer, my family and I would walk around the neighborhood after dinner. The path would be the same every time: walk by the rivulet, go around the golf course, and head back home. During the middle of the long walk, we would stop by the playground and I would play with my brother. My favorite activities were using the monkey bars, climbing up the rope, or climbing the rock wall. At the end of the walks, we would look at the sunset in front of our horizons. 

The main reason these long walks mean so much to me is that they serve as a reminder that life back then was quite simple. A symbol of my childhood, I lived in the former neighborhood from 3 to 8 years old. Also, during the long walks my family was quite civil. I know my memory is inaccurate, but the peaceful times during the walks reflected the household atmosphere. It is strange that before I was 9 years old, I had very few memories of my parents arguing at home. 

Although people in my current neighborhood walk around after dinner time, something is missing in today's walks. 10 years ago, my parents only had flip phones so they weren't distracted by their phones. As a result, my parents were able to enjoy the present moment and pay more attention to my brother and me. Despite the fact they don't swipe at their phones during their walks in 2020, I have to be honest that phones have worsened family time. For instance, I kind of gave up talking to my mom whenever I have random thoughts because half of the time she is reading news or on social media. I find it so frustrating because when she is on her phone, her ears turn off. Also, my family spends most of their leisure time looking at their phones instead of going out for a walk. I find it unfortunate to see my dad sitting on one side of the sofa scrolling through Facebook whereas my mom is on the other side looking at WeChat. 

I am sorry to use my parents as examples in this article, but the thought comes up in my brain every so often. 


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