Hello comedy lovers, this week I want to take it down for a second. As you may have seen on the internet last week, the Bell Let's Talk campaign was going strong. The campaign is raising awareness and funds to support mental illness and the stigma too often attached to it.
Many of my CreComm friends have written amazing and honest accounts of their struggles in different areas. Check out posts on Bailey, Danielle, Raegan, Scott, and Rachel's blogs as a few of the great posts in the vein of personal mental health.
I have not had any notable or specific struggle with mental illness, and I'm incredibly thankful for that. What I want to write about today is my struggle with being funny — or more specifically — wanting people to think I'm funny.
Comedy has always been an escape for me. I wasn't a popular kid through most of school but I was mostly good with it. I had friends and we got along just fine.
I've always been a "funny" person. Both my grandfathers loved telling me jokes and hearing mine. The first joke I remember from my grandpa Braun is, "How do you catch a squirrel? Climb up a tree and act like a nut!".
Not exactly Chris Rock at the Apollo but it made 4-year-old me laugh. When he passed away I shared the story and the joke at this funeral and made everyone laugh. Which brings me to the next point.
Laughter is "the best medicine" and can be therapeutic for many people. I think it's deeper even than that. There is nothing that makes me like someone more than if they laugh with me or make me laugh. Likewise, observing what makes someone laugh tells me enough about that person to make an informed decision about them.
Making a joke or trying to be "funny" is putting yourself out there, you're basically saying "do you like this?" every time. I don't expect everything I say to make anyone laugh, when someone is "funny" a 75% average for landing a joke is phenomenal.
Robin Williams' suicide earlier this year brought a lot of media attention to the confusing relationship between comedy and depression. Many notable comedians have said they got into comedy because they learned to be funny to avoid abuse. More comedians still have come out in support of Williams and discussed their own struggles. It seems like comedians who get into the business to fill some void in their life realize (sometimes too late) that making people laugh feels great, but it doesn't inherently mean you've formed a new relationship.
Louis C.K. has made millions of people laugh and feel like they know him. But he's a real person who a fraction of a fraction of those people would actually like and get along with in real life.
Comedy is important to me. My blogs name isn't just a cute play on words — I really do take comedy seriously. It's the lens through which I observe the world. Keeping laughing.
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