Do you always have to be funny?

I had always been a class-clown.

Every time the teacher asked me a question in high school, I tried to make a little joke or pun out of it. I thought it was my thing.

Then one day she asked me, “Do you always have to try to be funny?”

I tried to think of a funny answer, but I couldn’t. Her words cut too deep. I thought her annoyance must be justified because she was such a nice teacher. My confidence changed that day and it began to form 3 questions in my noggin…

Why did I always try to be funny?

My friends always shared silly songs with each other via mobile phone bluetooth, quoted comedians and imitated ridiculous Youtube videos.

My grandpa had so many fun stories from his life, when they weren’t actually funny, he still managed to add a sprinkle of goof to make it impossible for us to not laugh.

Everyone was a low key comedian. You start to want what the people around you like.

Did anybody find me funny?

One time a gym teacher had the whole class standing in a ring, while he explained the rules of basketball. I stood right across from him, so he decided to pass me the ball to get started. He threw it high into the air towards me, to make for an easy catch. I looked at the ball and thought “wouldn’t it be funny if it just landed on my face?” I started calculating the velocity of the ball and the angle of my face, I knew just how to make it not hurt, it slammed into the lowest part of my forehead, touching just the top part of my nose lightly, it bounced off and I stood firmly. Everyone burst with laughter. I felt proud. The gym teacher felt sorry for what he had done, thinking I had not been ready.

DO I always have to be funny?

If my ball-calculations had been wrong, the impact could have broken my nose. It would have been cruel if I had made the gym teacher actually hurt me. Just because I wanted to be funny.

So I think the answer to her question is no, I don’t have to be funny all the time. Especially not when somebody else is in the middle of their show.

I think everyone has a duty to be funny, if they can and if it makes life easier. So I would tell my teacher “I do have to be funny, but not right now, sorry.”