If Thoreau had written his essay in Atlanta, he would have noted that most people here cannot comprehend the motivation behind sauntering anywhere. And as they gaze at me from behind the tinted windows of their road raging vehicles, it shows. One driver even pulled over to ask me if I was having car trouble.

Of course, there are pitfalls to the carless and carefree life. When you get lost on foot, it takes much longer to find your way (particularly in a city where at least half of the roads seem to be named Peachtree). And, in Atlanta, at least, there are places you just can’t go.

But my roommate here has a car which she kindly shares with me. Several of my new friends have offered to shuttle me around. And there’s always public transportation, which goes almost everywhere I want to be.

Still, I prefer walking. No matter where I go or what I see, it’s always an adventure.

I’m not sure if I’ve succeeded in finding eternal youth on my many walks around Atlanta. But I did find a great Krispy Kreme—with a drive-thru window—on Ponce de Leon Road.

Catherine E. “Scarlett O’Hara” Shoichet ’04, a history and literature concentrator in Winthrop House, is an executive editor of The Crimson. When she’s not frantically dashing around the newsroom of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution minutes before deadline, she’s searching for a true southern gentleman with a sense of adventure—and a car.