From sarcastic jokes to whimsical comments, being funny has always been a big part of my personality. Now I know that it may sound silly. I mean, how can telling a few jokes and getting a couple of laughs here and there actually constitute a person’s being? The truth is, I honestly do not know what my life would be like if I didn’t have a sense of humor, or if I couldn’t make people laugh. Humor brings about a light within myself, a light that at times, I don’t even recognize, but other times, I feel that my tendency toward humor comes at a price, the price of not being taken seriously. I felt that people would discredit my thoughts and ideas, simply because having serious thoughts would simply be out of my nature. There was a point in my life, when I thought that being funny was not going to help me make a difference in my life or anyone else’s life for that matter, and that I should try to find something else to identify myself with, when suddenly, things changed.
I still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was my junior year of high school. I was sitting in our high school commons during my free period when two of my sophomore friends came and sat down on the couches next to me. They told me about an assignment they had to do for their English class, one that I had done the year before. The assignment was to write and perform a short skit based on the topic assigned to each group and ironically, they were given the same topic that my group had to perform when we were sophomores. The topic was the idea of mixed marriages and the complications that can arise from them when coming from an immigrant family. My friends’ families, as well as my own, all came from India, making us first generation American-Indians and well, you can say that we knew what most immigrant families would say to a mixed marriage.
My friends made their play about an American boy asking an Indian father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. They wrote up the play but they needed someone to play the part of the father so they could rehearse for class and I agreed to rehearse some lines with them. As I channeled my inner Indian father and got set to do this impromptu performance, I began saying my lines and well, I guess all that channeling must have done some good. I was speaking with an Indian accent and stern tone, as most Indian fathers in this position would have done and before I knew it, there were people coming toward me and my friends and watching our little performance. As we progressed throughout the play, more and more students came and more laughs were heard. When we were finished, the crowd of students applauded and commended us on our acting. My confidence was at an all time high that day, I had never gotten this much recognition for my humor before, and yet that was not even the best part of the day.
Soon after our little performance, the bell rang and it was time for class. As I began to pack up my things, I felt someone tap my shoulder and when I turned around, I saw that it was one of my closest friends. She said two words to me, “Thank you.” I was confused. I didn’t know why she was thanking me but then she began to explain. You see, my friend had lost her mother two months ago in a car accident and while she was holding strong, her little sister was still heartbroken. She told me that her sister hardly spoke anymore, let alone smiled and that no matter what she did to try and comfort her, nothing worked. She was worried that her sister would never get past her mother’s death and did not know how to help her. As my friend was watching our little performance, she saw her sister among the crowd, smiling and laughing. She came to thank me for brightening up her sister’s day with my ridiculous accent and dramatic acting. As she gave me a hug and quickly went on her way to class, I began to think about what an impact I had made with this, quote on quote, talent of mine. Something that I overlooked about myself, something that I thought of as a weakness, provided strength for someone else. I believe that my humor is something that I should not take for granted, but something I should embrace. It gives me a different perspective on life, and gives my friends some very amusing conversations. I believe that being funny is my superpower, a power that I should always cherish. I believe in the power of humor.