Vocabulary and Communication

I like having an extensive vocabulary in use. Big words (my favourite being floccinaucinihilipilification) delight me and, although they're not as useful in casual conversation, in paper writing they can add needed precision to an argument. However, a certain peculiar tendency has been pointed out to me a few times by a few people: I use a regular vocabulary despite my irregular physical condition. For example, I enjoy going on walks and strolling about the lakeside parks near my home. When I tell people that I plan on going for a walk to the corner, some retort "You mean drive, don't you?" or "Shouldn't you say ride?" usually with a slight chuckle.

The problem is that I don't mean "ride" or "drive". If I say I'm driving or riding to the corner I mean that I'll be travelling by van. I use walk to indicate the speed or state of my traveling, outside of a vehicle, and a stroll means some relaxing time perusing picturesque parkland.

However, I don't want to miscommunicate. Do I, in my special circumstance, need a special vocabulary? I've found that I am usually understood when telling others that I'm going for a walk, but perhaps this system could be improved with original descriptive words for the action of driving a wheelchair. "Wheeling oneself" perhaps; I'm not sure what words to use. The problem is that I dislike using special words to describe myself, words based on the fact that I have a physical disability. Such words serve a purpose, but more important descriptions of myself, I think, would be "Christian" and "student." It is very possible that I'm being overly sensitive in this, but the problem stands. And so, I think I'll stick with my normal vocabulary, regularly incorrectly use the word "walk," and suffer the occasional rebuff.