Bouncing On My Butt

Explosion of Laughter

I love more than anything to laugh hysterically. I love when people completely let loose and allow their bodies to give in to the laughing sensation. In these moments, one can hear a true laugh. There are so many different types of laughs, and different situations erupt different sounds. Here are a few of the common laughs:  1) the pity laugh—when one feels obligated to laugh at a bad joke. Whether you are the one telling the joke or the one laughing, nobody likes when this happens. 2) the ‘that is so funny’ line—people say this when they kind of think something is funny but don’t let out an actual laugh. 3) the normal laugh—when one thinks something is pretty funny, but the laughter subsides after a few seconds. 4) the true laugh—when one’s body is overcome and a natural noise erupts that creates more laughter. It is this final laugh that is contagious.

My girlfriend, Emily, is one of the funniest people I know. Her humor is perfectly in line with mine, and it makes every day a joy to be with her. More often then not, when I spend time with her I either experience a true laugh or get to hear her true laugh—it’s beautiful.  If I ever have a bad day or am stressed from tests, I can always bet she will be there to make me smile.

Recently, we were laying on our backs in her room talking about our day. Went to class, ate some cookie dough, and procrastinated homework—the usual day. At this moment, Emily lifted her legs, leaned back, and began bouncing on her back with her legs in the air—it was hysterical. It was something she had done as a kid, and she felt the urge to do it again. I immediately joined in on the fun. If you’re reading this, go ahead and try it. Two 21 year olds were bouncing like children, and we felt like children. We loved it, and the laughter began. While bouncing on our backs, the laughter continued to erupt from our mouths. The true laugh had begun.

Once one of our true laughs begins, the other immediately follows. It is like a virus that you can’t help but catch.

One of the things I find so funny about these moments is that nobody speaks for at least two minutes. People become vulnerable and are comfortable in the ‘silence’. If one were to be on the outside of the conversation, I’m sure it would look ridiculous. Two people bouncing on a bed with a weird guttural noise protruding from their gut—definitely seems weird. But if one is in the moment or is the person laughing, it seems completely natural.

I think I may drive back to my house, go to my room, and bounce on my butt. I need some way of relieving some stress.

Meet Gregory

My conversation partner’s name is Gregory. He is from Venezuela, and I have extremely enjoyed getting to know him. He has a great sense of humor, and our first few conversations have been informative and fun. In our first meeting, we focused on learning about each other’s cultures.

            I learned about the Venezuelan culture, and I was shocked. Our entire conversation consisted of him praising how lucky we are in America. He told countless stories of how his country is not safe, suffering, and has a weak economy. I was blown away by the facts he told me. The most interesting was about the grocery system in Venezuela.

            Gregory said that each citizen is given a number, and the number labels what day of the week that person is allowed to shop at the grocery store. An average citizen is allowed to shop one time a week—only once a week! On top of that, each person is only allowed to purchase a certain amount of some products. He explained that milk is an extremely rare commodity. Gregory said that one person is only allowed to purchase a half gallon of milk at a time—even if they are shopping for an entire family. Produce and other similar products are the same. One is allowed to only purchase a certain amount. Gregory compared it to Kroger and how he can walk to Kroger and buy as many gallons of milk as he wants on any day of the week. He was extremely grateful to be in the USA.

            Not only are citizens limited to the day and amount of a product he/she can purchase, but also the lines in the grocery store and insanely long. He said the average wait time is an hour and a half to get one’s groceries! Families will send one member to go wait in line, so it results in a less amount of groceries for a family. It broke my heart hearing this, seeing as I take my grocery store visits for granted. He also mentioned that the homeless or unemployed will spend their entire day in the grocery stores purchasing groceries, then selling them on the streets for four times the amount they paid. People will purchase the over-priced groceries for the benefit to not wait in line all day.

            The last part of our conversation was about the safety in Gregory’s country. He repeated over and over how lucky we are in the United States to be able to go outside after dark without the fear of being kidnapped. I heard stories about his friends who would walk into a bar after night, get kidnapped, then ransomed for money. During our conversation, I could not help but think about how lucky I am to be in my country where I can feel safe. It is a luxury I never think about, but people all across the world do not have that luxury.

            Seeing as our conversation was quiet somber, we ended with what made each other laugh. We scrolled through Gregory’s twitter account, and I saw that he finds fail videos absolutely hysterical. He also finds pictures funny. We decided that the next time we would meet we would each bring the funniest joke/video/picture we could find. I am thrilled to continue to learn more about Gregory and his culture.

The Beauty of an Honors Education

When I entered my junior year of college, I expected all of my classes to be focused in my major. What I always forget to realize is the beauty of an honors education. Within the first thirty minutes of class with Dr. Williams, I was ready to broaden my education experience. Humor—it is not a subject people usually talk about. In fact, I have never asked myself the definition of humor. When Dr. Williams asked the class this question, we had a hard time piecing together a response. That being said, after a few months, I feel as if I could form a definition. Honors classes provide students the ability to learn a variety of subjects in a discussion based setting, cultivating a diverse intellect among students.

            I have taken a wide variety of honors classes, and each of them has provided me a unique experience. My freshman year I took Africa and the African Diaspora. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone and encouraged to learn about a culture I had never studied. It was in this class that I wrote the essay for which I am proudest. I thoroughly enjoyed writing the essay, and I continued to present it in the AddRan college of liberal arts festival. I stood in front of five scholars and presented material that I would have never learned if not for the honors college.

            My first semester of sophomore year, I took an honors political theory class. While this is not an incredible creative topic, my teacher pushed me in ways I had never been pushed. Each day we were required to study famous thinker and philosophers, arguing their positions on issues going on in the world. There were times when I was frustrated and times when I was happy with the conversation. My professor evoked passion and determination from each student, motivating us to argue our positions and dive deeper into the material. While most political theory classes would consist of lecture, she never lectured once. She let the class take the discussion where it needed to go my throwing in a key idea that we then discussed. Again, the honors education is evidently different from a normal education. A topic that I would normally dislike became something I was passionate about because of the discussion based classroom.

            My second semester of sophomore year, I hopped back into the creative classes. I took a class titled “College Life and Identity.” This class was much different than political theory, but it diversified my education. I learned about what it meant to be a college student and what it meant to face all of the different social pressures that exist on a college campus. I presented research on diversity, education, and religion. Topics that are not usually covered in a normal classroom were unveiled in this class, further growing my passion for my honors classes.

            Now I am in my junior year, and I am taking a class on Literature and Civilization—with an emphasis on humor. Each day we speak our minds and discuss different forms of humor. Honors classes have the ability to take a topic or experience, such as humor, that people do not normally discuss and find a way to study and learn more about the root of the topic. Again, humor is not usually talked about, but from the class readings and class discussions, I have widened my perspective as a student. I treasure the ability to partake in classes such as this one, for I have friends at others schools that have completely different experiences in their classrooms. I am taking this class for the sole purpose of experience. I have already earned the credits this class offers, and I am enrolled in two other honors classes this semester. I am in it to simply learn.

            For the past few years, I have watched what my honors education diversify my educational experience. Through a wide range of topics and different teaching styles of professors, I am proud to say that I have polished a part of me that will benefit me in the future. If the person reading this is considering whether or not to pursue an honors education, I highly recommend he/she does it. There truly is something special about learning a wide variety of topics that will push one to be a thinker—a skill that will reap rewards in the future as an individual.