This derive took two attempts. The first time I tried it, it was 6pm on a Saturday. I left my dorm building and began walking, only to realize that maybe it wasn’t smart to wander alone aimlessly when it was dark. Something in me was setting off alarm bells, so I backtracked. I was smarter the next day and left at 12:30 pm. I was still alone. I couldn’t possibly ask somebody to dedicate 2 hours of their Sunday to a walk with no clear purpose. I was debating on asking someone from the class to go with me, but I’m shy and didn’t want to inconvenience anyone.

I set a rule for myself to change directions every time a new song came up on shuffle. This didn’t always line up perfectly, but I did the best I could. I briefly set a rule to also change directions every time I saw two strangers talking, but I quickly abandoned it (how would I know if they were strangers?). About 1/4th into my walk, I added a rule to follow the prettiest fall trees. Every time I had the option to cross through a park or some greenery, I took it. I tried my best to not walk in one direction too often. I also alternated between walking in the sun and walking in the shade. Along the way, I decided to take pictures of things that interested me– trees here, interesting shops there. I was out for about two hours; I wandered for about an hour and 20 minutes before deciding to head back home, which took up the remaining time. Perhaps it was because of my doing this alone, but I found it to be a very reflective and introspective two hours. Overall it was an interesting experience!