The ways to work around an injury are more fun that you
may think. First, crutches can be fun to hop around on once
you get the hang of it, and if the doctor lets you have a
wheelchair, you can basically move at the same pace as
everyone else (but you’ll be a little shorter than them). One
of the toughest places to work around any injury is in the
dining hall; however, it is not so difficult if you just find
someone to eat with, and they will have to get your food for
you. Plus, that person probably feels bad that you are
injured, so they will get your food first, which is good
because food is good. The last way to truly work around an
injury is to keep your explanation of the injury short and
sweet. Most of you probably know that when you have
crutches or a cast, people are always asking what happened,
so keep your explanation short so that you do not have to
recite an essay every time someone says hi to you.
Next, the subtle upsides to having an injury may seem
few and far between, but they exist. An upside to the
transportation aspect of having an injury is that you don’t
always have to walk everywhere. When I was injured, I was
given the phone number of a sponsor named Mr. Dan from
South Carolina. Mr. Dan had a golf cart that he drove around,
so I got to know Mr. Dan pretty well because National
Convention at Miami University involves a lot of walking.
Another upside to having a bad leg at Nationals is that you
can get to know people from other states because everyone
is so curious about a guy on crutches. They ask all types of
questions, and eventually some of those little conversations
can become lasting friendships.
The dreaded injury at Nationals may seem like an
experience that can almost ruin Nationals for a delegate, but
if you can figure out how to use your surroundings, injuries
do not have to stop the fun.