My Life as a Sloth

[Note: written this weekend, before all the icky weather and more cautious-walking started happening all over campus.  I also did not intend for this to be negative but commenting in the way when you find the funny in all situations.  Smilin!]

So, a lot of people compare their lives to an animal or a character in a book or a movie.  I’m sure there was a time when you took a quiz on Facebook that was something like, “Which Disney prince/princess are you?”  or “Which Lord of the Rings character are you?”  or something like that.  But I came up with this on my own.  If I were an animal this week (because these things change, of course), I would be a sloth.  First, let me tell you a little about them.

The 3-fingered sloth is the slowest moving animal in the world, moving at a break-neck speed of .003 miles per hour.  These animals have been built to live life in the treetops of South American rainforests.  They have a powerful grip and hang from tree branches.  Sloths sleep 15-20 hours a day, and remain motionless even when awake.  3-fingered sloths do not move well on land.  Because of their weak hind legs and long claws, they are quite clumsy on land.  If a predator is coming when they are on land, they stand no chance.  However, these sloths are very agile swimmers.  More interesting facts include: they have an extra vertebrae in their neck, so their heads can turn some 270 degrees, and they have a long, high-pitched call that echoes through the forest.

Why am I like a sloth this week?  Well, I have found that if I  S L O W  D O W N  when I’m walking, I am less likely to lose my balance.  Although it takes longer to walk between the Humanities building and my dorm, I can still get there on my own.  Although when people are walking past me, I stop and wait for them to pass.  It was actually on one of these treks that I first related myself to a sloth.  I DO NOT sleep 15-20 hours a day, because that’s just crazy for a PERSON.  However, I do need more sleep than those around me because of the MS.  But I’ve accepted that.  I’m not a very good swimmer.  At all.  But when I was trying to think of a substitute for that, I came up with texting.  Because I can do that faster than I can walk.  But not at the same time.

Thus, this week, I feel like a sloth.  Mostly because I’m really slow moving.  But on Wednesday I’m startin’ up some PT, which will hopefully speed me up to that of a koala bear, which is the world’s 5th slowest animal. Woo!  Crusin.  What kind of animal would you be and why?

Recommended reads: “Sherman is a Slowpoke” by Mitchell Sharmat and David Neuhaus

 

..And I equate THIS video to all of the awesome people who have given me piggy-backs when I have most needed them.  This is a thank you shout out to all you!

=)^2 Anna