I walk a lonely road by Ellie F. '28

As a resident of Simmons, one of the farthest dorms from Main Campus⁠01 east of Massachusetts Ave., where most of the academic buildings are , I spend a lot of time walking. But “a lot of time” is far too vague. When do I need to leave my room if I want to make it to class (mostly) on time? What routes do I walk on a regular basis? Which do I walk on a whim? To answer such burning questions, I started using a stopwatch to time some of the walks I’ve made.

Simmons to Building 45: 11 minutes, 43 seconds

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I take 18.c06⁠02 Linear Algebra and Optimization in Building 45 at 11 am. Building 45 has a beautiful glass exterior, and as I enter, the all-wood space opens up to a giant staircase that I run up, two steps at a time. The colorful squares covering the walls on each side shimmer as I sprint past.

exterior of Building 45

i love the art along the walls it's so bright and joyful!

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As the school year progresses, I find myself leaving Simmons for class later and later. I wake up just in time to catch breakfast, which closes at 10 am. I spend the rest of my time getting ready, reading my emails, checking my schedule, clearing off my desk, until—oh god it’s so late how did this happen I’m gonna be late to class oh god—

Simmons to Building 36: 9 minutes, 29 seconds

Sometimes, I know that I can make it if only I walk fast enough. I put on music, and I book it out the door and down that long stretch of Vassar St. I rush into my 5.111⁠03 Principles of Chemical Science, which fulfills the chemistry requirement recitation breathless, five minutes past the hour. That might sound like I’m late, but on MIT time, classes start five minutes after the hour and end five minutes before. I try to slow my breathing as I find a seat.

Simmons to Building 26: 15 minutes, 12 seconds

Other times, I have moved through denial, bargaining, anger, and depression until I have accepted in my mind and soul that I will be late. I still try to walk quickly, but my heart’s just not in it. So, on this day, my walk to 6.1210⁠04 Introduction to Algorithms took nearly six minutes longer than the walk to Building 36, despite nearly the same distance. 

Simmons to Building 1: 11 minutes, 18 seconds

On Mondays, I have my 17.50⁠05 Introduction to Comparative Politics recitation at the lovely hour of 7 pm. I usually become aware of this fact at 6:30, so I speedrun dinner and hurry down Vassar St and across Mass Ave and through the turning halls of Building 1 until I burst into my classroom.

Building 1 to Simmons: 21 minutes, 47 seconds

But I can take as much time as I want coming back. I look at the signs and posters on the wall and admire models of ships on display. I take a diversion to The Alchemist and take in the way the sculpture is lit up, how the numbers and mathematical symbols cast shadows on each other.

Building 36 to Simmons: 22 minutes, 58 seconds

I love my walks back from class because it feels like time that is truly my own. I let myself stop thinking about lectures and psets and just exist on campus. I stare up at the clouds and wonder at the best way to paint them. I notice the way sunlight filters through the leaves that have now started changing colors. I stop by the display of pumpkins, gourds, and ornamental kales outside Stud⁠06 Stratton Student Center and read the chalk words on the pavement, advertising study breaks and frat parties, many of which are long past by now.

im literally obsessed with the idea of ornamental kale. they really looked at a cabbage and said we can yassify that

clouds <3

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Simmons to Du Pont T Club Lounge: 6 minutes, 50 seconds

My PE class for the first quarter was ballroom dance! Keen readers will know I love dancing, and that won out over my general distrust of PE classes. Ballroom happens at 7 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so, much like with my 17.50 recitations, I scarf down a dinner, return my plates, and practice competitive speedwalking down the street and into the Z Center. On this night, it was raining, and I let myself take some extra time to admire the reflections of headlights in the street.

Simmons to Du Pont T Club Lounge: 6 minutes

I’ve only had to swallow my pride and actually run down most of Vassar St once. That was probably the most pure exercise I’ve gotten from PE.

Simmons to Building N52: 11 minutes, 31 seconds

I’m part of the DesignPlus learning community, where we explore design and making at our space in N52, which also holds the Morningside Academy for Design and various build teams. We have weekly lunch meetings, and on this day, I wanted to try a new route for getting there. Instead of walking straight to Mass Ave and turning along it, I crossed the railroad tracks and wandered between brick buildings until I inevitably met Mass Ave again and followed my normal path.

Building 4 Basement to Building N52: 8 minutes, 43 seconds

On Tuesday afternoons, I also have my DesignPlus seminar. My seminar is in the Forge and Foundry space below the Infinite Corridor, where we learn how to work with metals like copper, aluminum, and brass to make pendants and rings.

Through DesignPlus, I also get 24 hour access to its makerspace, and our technical instructor Bill McKenna often runs trainings on different tools and machines in it. I saw that Bill was running a sticker-making training right after my seminar, so I went over to learn how to operate the vinyl printer to create stickers featuring various Gauss puns.

when the machine cuts stickers it looks like it’s dancing

Simmons to Kresge Oval: 10 minutes, 10 seconds

Every year, the MIT Glass Lab has a glass pumpkin patch sale to raise money. I was told that the best way to get in early was to wake up at the crack of dawn to retrieve a ticket to hold my place in line, so get up early I did: I set a 6 am alarm and actually got out of bed with it. And in my hoodie and slippers, I set out towards the tent housing piles and piles of multicolored glass pumpkins to get my ticket.

the harvest is bountiful this season

Kresge Oval to Harvard Bridge to Simmons: 18 minutes, 29 seconds

I had planned to immediately go back to bed, but the sunrise was so breathtaking, I just had to walk to Harvard Bridge. I listened to Rachmaninoff as I watched the clouds turn from red to pink and reveal a thin crescent moon. And when I got too cold to keep standing there, I followed a flock of birds back to my bed.

maybe i should get up at 6 more often…

Simmons to Building E38: 17 minutes, 22 seconds

As a blogger (could you tell?), we have meetings twice a month, where we chat about our lives, upcoming events, and ideas for blogs while munching on snacks that taste twice as good because they’re free. It was at this meeting that I pitched the idea for this blog, as ordinary as it seems. 

At MIT, it can be easy to get used to my daily life, but even something as mundane as walking is filled with strange and interesting tidbits of college life. Sometimes, it just takes a stopwatch to slow down and see it all.