Let me preface by saying that I was still highly confused about the meaning of proprioception walking out of class, and after a little research, I found an example that ended up being very helpful:
"Proprioception is what police officers test when they pull someone over and suspect drunkenness. Without proprioception, we'd need to consciously watch our feet to make sure that we stay upright while walking."
I was immediately reminded of my days playing in the playgrounds. I was one of those kids who never used the equipment for their original purposes. You know the ones you see balancing on the top of the swing sets? I was that guy.
I was way too lucky in my heyday, but that doesn’t mean I was invincible. I broke my right arm jumping for the fourth rail of the monkey bars. After the rain had subsided, of course. Thank God you’re a lefty B, my mother reassured me. You can still do all your homework!
This first breakage healed over the end of my summer and the beginning of 2nd grade. Next summer, I decided to roller skate down a slide. Same arm. I guess I deserved that one.
These all healed, and my right arm still works fine. I was very lucky that nothing worse has happened to me. Please excuse me for a moment as I knock upon a piece of wood.
I should be paralyzed or dead after this incident. I was very lucky. Thank God for proprioception, my mom might say.
There is a park about three blocks from my home in Bridgeport. I forget the name, but my grandparents called it Brendan Park. It’s a run-of-the-mill park with a slide, swing set, tire swing and the monkey bars. What’s cool is that in the center of the park is a fort with a wobbly bridge, a tall slide and monkey bars all connected to it. To top it all of was a roof in the middle (where badass Bridgeports would scribble obscenities under it). It was fun to crawl across the monkey bars and climb to the top of the roof. I’m reminded of the scene in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, where Dylan tries to “reach for God,” but this roof wasn’t nearly as high. We kids would stand on top, kings of the playground, and if we were daring enough, we’d jump down to the woodchips.
I climbed up to the top of the monkey bars, but I wasn’t going to crawl across like everyone else. No sir, I was going to run across. That’s how incredibly awesome I am. So I did, and as I got closer to the roof, I jumped for it. Success! I was a 12 year old James Bond!
I was laying down on the roof, my body in danger of sliding down and snapping my neck. I think we were playing some spy game, and I was trying to peer under the roof. But then I lost my grip, and I began to slide down, my stomach beating against every bump on the roof. My hand grasped the monkey bar, and I swung myself around.
I just hung there for a while, trying to comprehend what had happened. How did I manage to grab the monkey bar so quickly? I should’ve been lying upon the woodchips unconscious. But I wasn’t. I had grabbed on at just the right moment. Thank God for proprioception, B.
As the definition stated, proprioception lets us use our hands and feet without looking at them. It allows them to move almost as separate entities. If it wasn’t for proprioception, I wouldn’t have been able to run across those monkey bars and I wouldn’t have been able to leap to the roof. Proprioception nearly killed me. Yet, it was proprioception that saved my life. Kind of like Sour Patch Kids, right? First they’re sour, then they’re sweet. So thank you, proprioception…I guess…
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