The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in your knee is commonly torn in sports related activities. This is unfortunate seeing as it is an essential ligament to have in order to do athletic things such as cutting and planting. Mother Nature, being the cruel wench she is, makes it to where you can tear this very important ligament with just one misstep. It is easy to tear, yet difficult to recover from, further cementing the idea that life is a cruel and unforgiving cycle of pain, confusion, and misery.

However, there are some unforeseen benefits to tearing your ACL. For example, it makes you appreciate walking, something that only those who are incapable of walking for whatever reason and tiny little babies can truly understand. Not even the most potent of pain drugs can make you as giddy as those who regain the ability to walk – at least to my knowledge.

Another example of a hidden positive to tearing your ACL is the excessive amount of sympathy that comes your way following your accident. Whether it’s your schoolyard bully deciding not to beat you up for a change or your mom bringing you your favorite snacks on command, it is important to milk the most out of people during your recovery period.

Sadly, I do not recommend tearing an ACL more than once. The allure of sympathy and the satisfaction from regaining all movement is not nearly as exciting the second go round. You grow tired of the need for help from others immediately the second time, seeing as I want nothing more than to be entirely independent. It has put a damper on my plans and I now know what to expect from the procedure, making my outlook decidedly bleak. With crutches, pain, and missed school a certainty in the coming weeks and months, it is much harder to see the silver lining this time.

I feel like if I were called upon to redesign the knee, I could do so with ease. Whatever has led to the current design has made it too prone to destruction. The ACL in particular is a slippery slope of pain and reward with no end in sight. If an ACL were a person, I would never ask him to take care of my plants when I went out of town. There would be a significant chance of me returning home to a house full of fully decayed plants that wreak of death.

The ACL is neither a friend or foe, it is more of a sociopathic entity that cares not for your feelings. Or, it is a ligament that I loathe because I have torn two of them, whichever you prefer.

Arrington rests after a strenuous climb up the stairs.

After almost falling down the stairs, Arrington opts for the elevator.