The narrow hallways of Los Osos High are the busiest during passing periods. Students rush to their next class before the seven minutes are up, at least they should. 

There is nothing that boils my blood at school more than people walking at snail’s speed or stopping right smack-dab in the middle of the hallway. 

For Pete’s sake, people, we have been walking for over a decade. What is the reason for walking like a tortoise?

I understand getting distracted by seeing a good friend and stopping to chat, on the contrary, we have things to do and places to be. In this case, please, kindly step to the side. 

It’s even more frustrating when there is a large group of people who walk stupidly slowly in front of me, making it impossible to go around them. While walking with friends is no one’s fault, dragging your feet is within one’s control. 

Seven minutes feels like a long time, however, when people have to walk halfway across this massive campus, seven minutes is not a lot of time, especially including people walking like sloths. 

That’s not even one “All Too Well” long, which is barely a full listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

In all honesty, I may be part of the problem. I walk at an abnormally fast speed, and I’m informed of this regularly. Even when I’m tired, and thus walk slower (or at a normal pace), I always seem to get stuck behind people that walk slower than a slug. 

I have been informed that throughout the entirety of my three years at this school, I have only stopped in the middle of the hallway with a friend twice. 

This is inevitable from time to time, however, the consistency of these occurrences is beyond frustrating. 

It may be unhealthy how upset I get when this happens, I sometimes cry. 

I am guilty of pushing people’s backpacks when they’re stopped in the middle of the hallway, which is not good. My friend, who attends another school, straight-up shoves people, which is even worse.

One thing I will never understand is why this occurs. Stopping can be excusable from time to time, however, there is no reason to be walking so slowly. Once again, we’ve been masters of walking for over a decade. 

Some students may be injured, and it is understandable to walk at a slower pace than normal. I have orthopedic issues, myself, so there are times when I limp, especially going up or down stairs. I like to think that I still walk fast, but I could be wrong. 

What would be beneficial for fellow speedwalkers is different “lanes” in the hallway. Half the hallway should be dedicated to people walking in one direction, and the other in the other direction. 

Half of that should be dedicated to fast walkers or people in a rush to the bathroom or their next class. 

The other part should be dedicated to people who walk slowly, people who are walking slowly with friends, people who stop, or people who need to turn. 

Overall, please, for the sake of speed-walkers’ sanities, step to the side.