You may be familiar with the old television show, Hey Arnold, and the urban legends that Arnold often mentioned. Usually, they turned out to be a disappointment to the kids in the neighborhood, such as Lock Jaw, the giant turtle that lived in the aquarium but was really sad and covered in graffiti. I only mention Hey Arnold because I was listening to 90’s music today and am now having flashbacks of my childhood. Anyways, the point is, usually when something is built up so much in one’s mind, the actual thing rarely lives up to expectations. This, however, is not the case for Georgia Tech’s famed unicycle guy.
If you ask anyone on campus, chances are that they have, at one point or another, seen a guy riding around on a giant unicycle. However, lack of sleep, coupled with the general lack of normality on campus, serves to suppress any curiosity about this figure. Nevertheless, word on the street is that he exists. When I went home a few weeks ago, I stole my sister Jackie’s unicycle and smuggled it back up to school, inspired by the mysterious unicycle guy. After that, all kinds of secret unicyclists have been emerging from the framework. My hall and I have been busy practicing our circus talents for the last couple of weeks, and have since accumulated another unicycle and juggling balls. We finally decided to try the unicycles outside of our protective dorm walls, and went out to ride in the parking lot. After only a handful of attempts, who should roll up, but the unicycle guy himself!
My experience of the day was getting to meet Justin the Unicycle Guy. Justin has a 36” unicycle which he rides all over campus. He has ridden over several hundred miles on it since investing in it, including a charity ride that was over 100 miles long. He can also do tricks on a regular-sized unicycle, such as “wheel-walking”, which is exactly what it sounds like. He himself learned how to unicycle during a “week long crash course”, and was more than happy to discuss the lore of unicycles with us amateurs. Everyone took turns doing laps around the parking lot, and receiving funny looks from passerby. After a while, it was time for us all to stop procrastinating and get back to studying. We said our goodbyes to Justin the Unicycle Guy, and headed back inside.
My positive moment of today has definitely demonstrated what a broad variety of people there are at college. Just about anything anyone could ever want to learn, there is most likely someone here who is already secretly doing it. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding kindred spirits, and sometimes it just takes a little dumb luck. Even if you aren’t looking to develop some absurd new hobby, everyone should consider this time in their lives as an opportunity to do something crazy that they never thought was possible, and may never be again. Looking to break the ice? I highly suggest investing in a unicycle.
No comments:
Post a Comment