Fwd: Final Blog Post - Nick

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Nicholas Bagwell <nwb2w@mtmail.mtsu.edu>
Date: Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Subject: Final Blog Post
To: Phil Oliver <Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu>

Walking and Creativity Blog Post

Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust was not just a book about the human desire to travel, but also the cultural, political, and philosophical aspects of our human desire. For my Midterm, I created a PowerPoint discussing the beginning and middle of the book, where I first discussed the creative process that can come to someone when travelling, and the connections between walking and the ability to think clearly. Some highlighted points that stood out to me when reading the first few chapters were that a human can find comfort in going out on a walk. This could be because they had just recently gone through a heartbreaking moment with their significant other, they could be trying to increase their creative thinking by being on the move, they could be breaking the tension between the screens that we look at every single day, they could even just be overstimulated and need a breath of fresh air. 

To me, this presentation was quite interesting to make because I do go on frequent walks in my spare time, which I mostly don’t think about doing, but I can understand how it can be therapeutic, especially after reading Wanderlust. Solnit’s book had me thinking quite deeply about what exactly it is that I think about whenever I go out on walks, and to my surprise, all of it added up. I have never really paid any attention to how differently I can think when I am on the move. Honestly if I could make this blog post on the move without having to hold my laptop in my arms, I definitely would just so I could see if there was any difference in productivity and creativity. Which brings me to another point that I had noticed while making my Midterm presentation, which was that walking basically frees up most of your mental space, which then allows you to self-reflect in a more productive way. The way I would explain it if I can remember is that the physical task of walking makes your brain focus on putting one step in front of the other, knowing where to step, and knowing where you are trying to go, and that’s it! If all you are focusing on is the physical task of walking, then that simple task allows your brain to open up to a clear mental space, where it is easier to recognize your thoughts and feelings, allowing you to reflect on whatever it is that may be troubling you or whatever may be requiring a lot of focus and thinking in your life. 

“It is now impossible to say whether or not Aristotle and his Peripatetics habitually walked while they talked philosophy, but the link between thinking and walking recurs in ancient Greece, and Greek architecture accommodated walking as a social and conversational activity,” (Solnit, 16).

This quote above brings me to my next topic from the book that I thought was interesting to note, which was the philosophical use of walking. In the book, Solnit references multiple philosophers when discussing the connection between walking and creative thinking, which was the main reason as to why I picked this book in the first place. In all of my other classes, we would discuss these different philosophers, but we had never really questioned how they would have taught, and how their discussions may have appeared. Imagine you are listening to Aristotle as they were talking philosophy, and they were just pacing. You don’t quite understand why they are pacing, but at some point, you decide to ask them why they would always be on the move. Would you think that they would have an answer for that question? Do you think that they pace on purpose? I feel as though there wouldn’t be an answer for that question unless they were doing it on purpose. Thinking while on the move is something that we all obviously do, but I feel life I have never thought about it until reading Solnit’s book. 

“Here they wandered to and fro; for this reason it was later said that Aristotle himself lectured and taught while walking up and down,” (Solnit, 15).

Going back to my own personal reflections after reading Wanderlust, I realized that MTSU’s campus layout is a great example of being able to think while on the move. I have no clue if it was intended for MTSU’s campus layout to be like this, but every single day, I walk through long paths, green spaces, and large buildings in order to get to class, which is completely ordinary if you were to not think about it. But to me, the paths that you chose to walk through on campus are great for creative thinking or just being able to plan out your day and be ready for your next class.

Near the end of the book, Solnit discusses the political implications of walking, or in this case, protest marches. One such example could be on a Halloween night, when several hundred people marched to the Hall of Justice to protest and mourn the murder of a young gay man in Wyoming. This brings up even more examples of political marches throughout history, such as the Women’s Suffrage Parade in 1913, the Bonus March after the first World War, the multiple Civil Rights Marches in Alabama in the 1960s, and even the No Kings protests today. One of the questions that I had asked when making my presentation was if there was a reason as to why people march as a sign of protesting. For me, I believe that the simple act of being there physically is exactly why people protest in order to show their message, whatever it may be.

Overall, I would say that being able to travel is a reminder of our freedom, and how walking does not require permission or money. It is a completely self-directed process that we chose to make on our own whenever we need to think clearly, or to get away from whatever may be bothering us.