Are you stuck? No, I'm just getting to know my space.

Yesterday, I was in desperate need of a break from school (I’m currently in my last week of classes aka finals season) so I decided to head over to the Katzen Arts Center on AU’s campus with a friend, blast some Lindsey Stirling and play around in the space.  I realized why her music is so perfect for parkour too.  The electronic aspect gives you energy and pumps you up while the violin fosters your creativity and flow.  I walked around the sculptures and looked to see where all the drops were, if there was anything to climb on and where I could reasonably do a handstand.

As I danced around to the music—jumping, climbing and walking on my hands—my friend V was taking pictures and helping me think of new challenges.  And occasionally yelling out ARE YOU OKAY?! when I got off-balance or looked like I was falling.  Or when I tangled myself around the railing... are you stuck? do you need help? No, I'd respond, I'm just getting to know my space...

I was playing around a lot on the railing of one staircase when I decided I really wanted to walk up or down the stairs on my hands.  My rationale: I can walk around on my hands on a flat surface, so why not up or down the stairs? A lot harder than it looks.  Physically and mentally.  Mentally because it’s hard to ignore the fear that you’re going to fall down the stairs or land on your face.  Physically because of the distance you have to lift your hands to go up or down.  On a flat surface, you’re only lifting your hands a maximum of a couple of inches which shouldn’t throw you off because they stay relatively even.  When you have to lift your hands 6+ inches, you’re essentially doing a one-handed handstand until you can place your other hand on the next step.  The slower you move, the longer you’re balancing on one arm, but if you move too quickly then you’ll throw off your balance anyways.  So basically, it’s really f***ing hard.

I did manage to just barely get one step before losing my balance but I took a break shortly after, realizing my challenge was a lot harder than I first expected.  I’m not giving up.  I’m simply putting it on hold until I am better prepared to conquer it.  Even though I couldn’t quite do what I wanted to do, I had a really good time just playing around in a new space.  I also really enjoy doing this kind of stuff when there are tour groups of prospective students coming through campus because it totally weirds them out.

Here’s some pictures from the day, courtesy of V: