The Arts in NYC

3

I think I am funny...

I don't know why so many people think I am a serious person. Just the other day Andrew said that I am not funny. When I do crack jokes, people would look at me funny, like, "Oh my god, did she just tell a joke!?!?"

My really good friend said I am an unapproachable person. She said that when she first knew me, she never really saw a smile on my face. I guess it is kind of true: One time I was just walkiing out of the lockroom and my gym teacher asked me why I was so down out of nowhere...and I wasn't, in fact, I think that was actually a good day.

I think I don't like to open up until I really get to know people really well, and when I do, I am all smiles. In fact, I am known as the crazy one among my close friends because I always say some crazy, funny things out of nowhere.

With my close friends, I am usually the comedian, the one with the crazy stories (or just exaggerated). Actually, I do laugh a lot. Just the other day, I was laughing on the subway by myself because I thought up of something funny, and I didn't even care if people thought I wa crazy.

Although I have to admit it is quite hard to get me to laugh sometimes, I am very picky, in every way. There are only certain types of jokes that I will laugh at, and usually, I don't find jokes that other people like funny. I think that's why people think I am serious--because I don't laugh at the supposed "funny" jokes. But when I do find something funny, people better watch out, because I can laugh nonstop sometimes, and I snort (sometimes) when I laugh too hard.

So one day my friend and I were discussing track (because I used to be on the track team), and we were arguing about who had the best time for a mile run. So I was saying how I was probably faster than him and he said no. And so I asked him what his time was..."SIX SECONDS." He smirked. I stared at him and waited for him to realize his mistakes. "What?" I asked. "Six seconds!" He repeated. And then it began...I started snicking first to hide my laughter (since it was during class). But I couldn't help it, and I exploded with laughter. It was stupid, I admit, I mean, it wasn't probably not even that funny (or a bit funny at all) to other people. Anyway, my face got really red and I started tearing up. Everyone, of course, was staring at me, and my friend was chuckling. The teacher walked up to me and asked if I was okay (she probably thought I was having a seizsure or something). Even after 5 minutes I couldn't stop and had to go to the bathroom. And, of course, it did stop at the end. However, during club meeting, the image of my friend came up again and I started laughing out of nowhere. When I told my friends at the club what was so funny, they just looked me weirdly...apparently, they didn't see what was so funny about it.

The moral of this story is basically that different people interpret comedy, like art, different. Sometimes, some would think a joke is funny, while it may be offensive to others. The bottom line is to keep an open mind, because both art and comedy can be controversial at times. And just because someone doesn't laugh at a certain joke doesn't mean she's incapable of laughter, or that she can't be a secret comedian who comes out to crack jokes in the dead of night!!

-- ELAINE LI