Laughing is something I do everyday. It's air. I don't exist without it. I need it. I go crazy if I don't have it. Sometimes it's hard to find. Sometimes the thing you want is not always available. But to me, it's not a want, it's a need. I search everywhere for laughter, everyday. It may sneak up and surprise me, with its instant euphoria and ability to create doubling over. The stretching of cheeks and the deep roar is something I crave. However when I can't find it, the laughter that creates an out-of-body experience, I crash. I lose it. I forget the important things. I focus too much on the negative. I have no more dreams, no more desires, no more enjoyment. But when we do meet again, it is as if old friends have found their way back together again, never missing a beat.
I find laughter in my family. A family that is always joking, teasing, and laughing. A mother with a keen sense of humor and wit. A father armed with a corny joke no matter the topic. A sister so funny it is hard to even have one serious moment. A brother who belongs on Comedy Central, no questions asked.
I find laughter in my friends. Friends who constantly make me laugh. Friends who are shoulders to cry on, whether ones of pain or laughter. Friends who can find humor in everything and create humor out of nothing.
Recently, I have discovered humor from my workplace. Teaching is not a humorous job, but my philosophy is "if we are not laughing, we're not learning." No, I don't do stand-up in my class. But I am the cause of the laughter. I am the characters. I perform. I act as if I am sword fighting with Othello. I act as if I am the one who buried the beating heart under the floorboards. I act like I am a Puritan who wishes to marry John Proctor. I may not be the one laughing at that moment. But I create it. Creating something so beautiful, so rare, is a talent I pride myself on. Students may not remember the setting, the literary devices, or the rising action, but they will remember that they laughed.
