Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Berkeley chapter.

The second I need a break, I put on my shoes. Walking has become one of my favorite ways to relieve stress. While I used to be an avid journaler, not even spilling out all of my thoughts onto a page was enough to rid me of my anxiety. Not to mention, I’m far too busy writing papers and reading to take time out of my day to journal. This is where what I affectionately call my “hot girl walks” come in.

A hot girl walk is simple: you put your shoes on, go outside, and walk wherever you want to. I live close to Elmwood, so I love walking there and checking out all the shops, doing a bit of sightseeing, or even picking up a sweet treat on the way. Sometimes I’ll get a nice iced strawberry matcha from Cafenated Coffee, or shop for books I’ll never have time to read at Mrs. Dalloway’s.

Regardless of the direction, I don’t set any time limits on how long I should walk. . The length of my walks solely depends on how I’m feeling and what I need. Sometimes, that’s just a quick 15 minutes; other times, it’s well over an hour. No matter the length, my goal remains the same: to ensure that by the time I feel like I’m done, my mind doesn’t feel as cluttered and crazy. 

Training
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

Besides walking, what I do to help clear my mind,  includes a variety of activities.. Sometimes I’m catching up on podcasts that I seem to always be behind on, calling friends or family members to gossip and debrief, or listening to my newest Spotify playlist. Regardless, I make sure it’s an activity that has nothing to do with my schoolwork or anything that may be causing me stress at that moment. By taking my mind off these stressors, I can reset and refresh myself.

Aside from the mental benefits of my walks, there’s also a fun visual aspect to these walks! My walks remind me how beautiful life is, whether it’s catching pretty sunsets, seeing monarch butterflies flit about, or the absolute cutest dogs out on their strolls. Life is too short to agonize over essays and grades, not when I can go outside and see a cute corgi.

So, the next time you’re feeling down or frazzled, I recommend taking your comfiest pair of walking shoes and walking to your heart’s content! It might just be the perfect remedy.

Sophia Brunet

UC Berkeley '27

Sophia is a freshman at UC Berkeley, intending to major in English, with minor in Public Policy. She enjoys writing about pop culture, personal blogs, and listicles. Sophia has experience in creative writing and journalism. After graduation, she hopes to enter the publishing and editing industry, determined to sharing the joys of creation and writing with others. In her free time, when she's not writing, Sophia enjoys going to concerts, thrifting for new clothes, and spending time with her friends and family.