In All Seriousness...

We all do it. Its that switch in our brains we just can't seem to turn off. As soon as its triggered, it takes over our body. It just won't stop. Our faces are red and our eyes are watering. The time is still ticking but we can't even think. We all do it. Sometimes we even get punished for it. By now you probably want to know what I'm talking about. Well, it's simple. It's, like I said, something we all do. It's a laugh.

A laugh starts with a smirk. A smirk turns into a smile. A smile turns into an even bigger smile and eventually you can't control it. It takes a second for you to become unstoppable. One second that can change the way you feel.

Feelings all come from within, they come from the inner core of your body. Generally, all people think about are their feelings. They spend too much time deciding how they want to feel or how they should feel rather than letting their body naturally do the work. When I heard Judson Laipply speak in New Brunswick during the YRSA conference, my feelings were natural. I let go of every thought in my mind and let it take me where it wanted to go. He made me forget every other problem going on and focus on what was happening right there. He made me enjoy myself. He made me laugh.

Judson Laipply, I think, is one of the funniest speakers I have ever heard. He brought serious topics into funny situations. For example he said, you open up your cupboard door, grab what you need but then forget to shut it. You bend down and when you lift your head back up you smack it on the corner of the cupboard. You then start cussing and yelling but soon discover that it was your own fault. Your the one who forgot to shut the door, your the one who your really getting mad at. You then realize that you look like a dork by getting mad at yourself, and you laugh. Once you laugh, you forget why you were mad in the first place.

Some think that laughing takes you away from reality and takes you to another world where everything is peaceful. Actually, it takes you away from that other world and brings you into reality. The world is not a peaceful place, but a simple laugh can make it one. The first strike of a laugh and its like a chain reaction. You could have a room full of people, one could start laughing and within seconds the whole room would be in hysterics. Some people might be laughing at the joke, some might be laughing because they have to, and then there's some that laugh at other peoples laugh. You know, those really high pitched ones, the Santa Claus giggle, or the full on pig snorts?

You might call me crazy, the random laugh attacks, the sudden outburst of chuckles, cackles or snickers. But at the end of the day when you look in the mirror, instead of picking out your flaws, laugh at them. Laugh at the giant pimple on your forehead or your disproportionate ears. It makes finding yourself so much easier and it makes having fun natural instead of a job. "The most wasted of all days, is the one without laughter" - e.e cummings.