bawzer14

[bawzer14]

In order to better understand how humor can help us even in the most challenging situations, it is worth taking a look at our inner life. Jokes and humor in general play with our expectations. We see or hear something and hypothesize how the situation will develop. The punch line of the joke undermines, at best, our expectations and surprises us.

Being funny is possibly one of the best things you can do for your health. You can almost think of a sense of humor as your mind's immune system. People at risk for depression tend to fall into depressive episodes when exposed to some kind of negative stimuli, and afterwards, it becomes easier and easier for them to relapse into depression. However, reframing a negative event in a humorous light acts as a kind of emotional filter, preventing the negativity from triggering a depressive episode.

Current research has indicated that humor, specifically laughter, counteracts the devastations of stress on the body and immune system. So, it’s obvious to me that a sense of humor would ease the stress of new situations.

We were given (or developed through natural selection, depending how you see it) a sense of humor, the capacity to laugh, for a purpose. It helps us adapt, learn, grow and survive. Taking yourself and your situation too seriously deprives you of the tool of humor.

Not every form of humor has a positive effect on our well-being. Research distinguishes between four types: connecting, self-strengthening, aggressive, and self-defeating humor. The first two types aim to amuse and reinforce one's surroundings and oneself – the latter two serve to belittle and make fun of oneself or others. While these are hurtful and negative, the first two types of humor can inspire us and help us deal with everyday life and crises better.

Of course, it is possible to take things too lightly. We all know the frustration of having a problem that a loved one won't take seriously enough. We also know people who handle life like a joke, and never get it together. Actually, this kind of inappropriate lightness usually masks fear; the fear that whatever situation or emotion one doesn't want to deal with is too heavy to handle.We all know common phrases around laughter. With a healthy dose of humor, we not only cope more easily with everyday life but also during particularly difficult and challenging times. Especially when we have a terrible day, private or job-related issues, or even health problems, humor proves to be our knight in shining armor. It does not change our predicament itself, but it does lower our stress levels and helps us see the world with different eyes.

I believe all our human capacities have meaning in our lives. The capacity to laugh may be simply to bring us closer together, to help us be social units, but I think its existence says something more powerful. Try laughing more. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

[bawzer14]

Our parents taught us to be responsible ever since we were little kids. They told us that whenever we make a mistake, we should own up to it and claim all repsonsibility for our actions. But overall, what does responsibility mean?

“The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something” says the disctionary definition. However, what is the true meaning of responsibility? From my experience, showing that you are willing to take responsibility shows a true, strong character. Being responsible can also mean that you keep your house tidy and know how to keep things clean, that you can take care of yourself and the things around you but being able to own up to your actions when you made a mistake means you have a lot of courage. 

I remember when I was in highschool in freshman year and we went in a schooltrip to Sibiu. We were young and we wanted to have as much fun as possible so when the night came we bursted into the stores and bought all the liquor that we can find. We ended up getting wasted that night in a five-star hotel with our teachers watching us as we threw up. In the morning, our class master was furious and we did not know what to do. Eventually, we walked up to him after we ate, we admitted our mistake and we were expecting him to call our parents. But he did not. Even though he was furious with us, he appreciated that we took responsibility and he let us off the hook. However we were still banned from going to the next school trip with him. :)))))

What I’m trying to say is that we could have ended up in a lot of trouble because of this little stunt that we pulled if our class master would have called our parents. That day I learned a very important lesson. Besides the fact that underage drinking should stay illegal, the fact that we chose to own up to what we did and accept all the punishment that came with it must have impressed our class master since even though he was mad he did not call our parents. Even though I got lucky, from that day I always took responsibility even for the smallest things. This is a light example that I’m showing, but there are more serious situations in which taking responsibility proves vital. 

After we came home, we could not believe what had happened. Me and my classmates talked for months about this and whenever we remembered we had a smile plastered on our faces. All of us got taught somethings that day and we still reminisce about those moments when we gather together.  

[bawzer14]

One of the best things that life has taught me in my 20 years of living and experiencing on this great earth is that honesty truly is the best policy. Even if some situations, contexts or people might sometimes force us to lie and hide the truth, life has taught me that eventually truth comes out and in order to avoid stressful and complicated situation it is best to just be plain honest. I remember in my teenage years what a problem it was to my parents that I was smoking. I would go through a great deal of trouble just to have that nicotine rush, even smoking with tree branches so my hands wouldn’t smell like cigarettes and buying a pack of gum every couple of days so when I entered the house I would have a fresh breath, sometimes even bringing a bottle of perfume with me when I went to cafes or pubs where people were smoking because the smell of cigarettes would impregnate in my clothes. However, after a while of struggling I finally told them the truth that I was smoking and, to my surprise, they did not have the usual reaction of yelling and disappointment. My dad sat me down and gave me a long lecture about the damages that smoking causes, but in the end he said it is my choice what I want to do. 

Never have I ever been so shocked. I was actually thinking “Is this really happening? In my house? With my parents?” while looking amazed at both of them. Of course my mom would never let me light up a cigarette without her constant nagging that it smells in the whole house and that it hurts my lungs. The curious thing about this situation is that after everything had relaxed because my parents knew, it did not take me long to actually give up smoking. It was like the constant fights with my parents pushed me in smoking more because of the stress they were putting me through and the trouble I had to go through in order to smoke. But after all that was gone I finally realized just how vicious and harmful smoking can be when I could do it anytime I wanted. After that moment, me and my parents definitely developed our relationship more and I started being honest with them all the time. I can say that this experience brought us together and made me realize that being honest is the solution for a healthy relationship with not just your parents but with everybody. 

Since then I have grown a lot and definitely more matured, I have better relationships with my friends since I prefer to be blunt in everything that I do. My friends appreciate me because of this as I no longer have the stress of hiding things and being something that I do not want to be. I remember one time in highschool when my math teacher gave me a higher grade than I was supposed to. My math teacher was not the man to fool around with because he was very strict about his rules. However, when he saw that I chose to be honest and fairplay about the test, he did not keep the grade but from that moment on I could see that his respect for me has grown. He always gave me good grades and always behaved nice with me from that moment on. Being honest always benefited me and I have learned that it is a noble thing to do, especially when the situation proves otherwise.