Hot Girl Walk your way to happiness

During the spring semester of my first year at UVM, I was a traumatized lump of sadness.

I was sick of COVID-college and was becoming deeply entrenched in my own drama. Happiness became scarce.

I was looking for any solution to pull me out of my personal pity party. 

So, I started taking walks.

I mindlessly wandered around campus with my earbuds in, blasting upbeat music and thinking happy thoughts. I loved being in “Grace world” for an hour. The happiness slowly started to trickle back in.  

This ritual became known as “the daily walk” to all my friends. Sometimes, I would even plan my day around the walk. 

A year later, I learned there was a name for what I had been doing all along: the hot girl walk.

Though the term recently exploded this past spring, the name “hot girl walk” was coined in a January 2021 TikTok by Mia Lind, under her account @exactlylikeothergirls.

In the video, Lind says there are only three things you can think about on the hot girl walk: things you’re grateful for, your goals and how you will achieve them, and how hot you are.

During the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Lind was looking for a type of exercise she didn’t dread doing, according to a May 23 article from the Huffington Post. She began taking walks and appreciated the meditative aspect of the practice.

Upon realizing there was a stigma around walking as a valid form of exercise, Lind wanted to rebrand the activity, thus creating the name “hot girl walk,” according to the article. 

Walking has many physical benefits, including increased immune function, easing joint pain, strengthening of the heart and decreased blood sugar, just to name a few, according to a November 2018 Healthline article.

While the physical benefits are important, the mental boost from a walk should not go unnoticed. 

Taking walks can improve mood, increase productivity and boost creativity, according to the Healthline article.

A walk already provides great physical and mental benefits. With the addition of positive thinking, a hot girl walk is a win-win situation, according to a June 24 Healthline article. 

As hot girl walks continue to gain popularity nationwide, the fun and introspective ritual has also gained momentum close to home—right on UVM’s campus.

A new group will be organizing hot girl walks for anyone interested. For more information on how to get involved, follow @uvmhotgirlwalk on Instagram for updates on group walks.

Hot girl walks have transformed my mindset and pulled me out of dark places.

When I’m feeling down, I crank up my music, lace up my pink Vans and hit the ground walking. I get into my body and let my hot girl walk take me wherever I need to go.