In defence of slow walkers.

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There is a group of people in society that I feel are wrongly villainised.

The quiet judgement is becoming too much. There are audible sighs when they are around. Eye rolls and mutters, even. And I'm here to put an end to it.

Today, I am here to announce, loudly and proudly, I am a slow walker.

Let me first answer your questions, to get these out of the way.

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Yes, I'm 23-years-old with no shortage of energy. Yes, I am of both average height and leg length. Yes, despite this, I am a slow walker.

There is no other excuse (nay, reason) that I need to walk at a slower pace than most, but here I am. An outlier. An anomaly. A shining beacon of slow-moving light. And now I'm here to provide a voice to this silenced community.

At some point, society decided that fast walking equals good and slow equals bad. So, I'm — once and for all — saying goodbye to the days of shame. And goodbye to you, stitch I've had for the last 30 minutes for trying to keep up with the fast-walkers around me.

Let it be said that I love walking. I walk daily as a form of exercise and a way to clear my mind. But if I invite you on a walk with me to catch up, I want it to be just that. I want us to stroll side-by-side, taking in the sun on our face and salt in the air. What I don't want is an hour of little awkward skip-steps and repeatedly gasping, "sorry… just… getting a bit…puffed, doyoumindifweslowdown?!"

I don't want every few seconds of our conversation being interrupted as we split apart to overtake the elderly couple who seem to be enjoying their walk more than we are.

I used to think that something was wrong with me. I thought that fast walking was something to work towards. Something to achieve. And now I see that a slow walker is just who I am. It's a part of my identity that I'm no longer pushing into the shadows.

There is, of course, a time for fast-walking. There is no doubt about that. When I pop into Westfield for one thing — that always seems to be down the complete opposite end of the side I have parked — I must fast-walk. There is only so much time I can spend in a shopping centre before I transform into a red, hot ball of rage. Or, for example, when someone is holding a door open for you from an awkwardly far distance, and you have to skip a little.

So while I acknowledge the need to pick up the pace in some situations, most other times, we should ask ourselves if the speed at which we walk is even necessary.

Don't I look so zen?! Image: Supplied.

Let's really take a moment to unpack this.

It's 2025, and we're always in a rush. We're rushing to get up. To go to work. To leave work. To go get a drink. To do our self-care. To set goals. To achieve the goals.

So today, I ask: Is it worth it? What if we had a moment where we didn't have to add all this pressure?

The slow walkers of the world have it all right. Their nervous systems are regulated, their heart rate maintained. They're taking a moment to really breathe in the fresh air and notice the world around them.

Did you see that whale breaching in the ocean? That patch of colourful flowers? That cloud that kind of looks like that guy you matched with on Hinge last week?

Of course you didn't. You were speed-walking straight past them all.

You see? You're missing life's beautiful moments by rushing through what's supposed to be the most relaxing part of your day.

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It is important to note, if you are a slow walker, there are some unspoken rules we need to follow. One being, kindly stay to the side of the footpath and walk in a straight line. Do not travel in groups of three abreast or more. Please kindly go two-by-two. If someone is overtaking you, you must not, in turn, speed up. And you must not, under any circumstances, stop in the middle of the path. These steps are crucial to ensure we remain strong as a community and avoid any actual deserved judgement. We need to do this for each other.

We must redirect the angst. There's so many other people we could use this energy to be angry at. Read: people that listen to TikToks out loud on the train, the guy who starts mowing his lawn at 6am on a Sunday or people who clap when the plane lands. These are the real villains of society.

So next time you find yourself huffing at the slow walker ahead of you, try to re-frame your mindset. You could overtake and give a knowing nod. Or perhaps, you could take a page out of their book?

After all, what's the rush? Take a deep breath, slow down and enjoy.

Feature image: Supplied.