Laughter=Life

When written words do not suffice, we turn to illustration. Illustration is a means to develop a picture within our minds, to capture it, and to show, rather than tell, in a rather extraordinary manner. I have often marveled at the power of the image and how art reveals something to us that words just simply cannot. Images are as powerful as our words and can be used in exactly the same detrimental or positive manner.

I often experience or see things and exclaim out loud that I wish I could remember it forever. I can specifically bring myself to certain moments when I was completely in awe of the world around me, and furthermore, acutely aware of my position within a situation. Fleeting moments because frozen in my mind and I control time.

In Jeff Kinney's book, as well as countless other authors such as Kalman and Amy Sedaris, images are used in order to illuminate and further, illustrate humor. He allows us, as does Kalman, to see the world through their eyes so that we are ourselves allowed to laugh on their terms. How incredible it is that humor can facilitate through image, a transformation into another human beings' mind. And this completely pertains and alludes to the biggest discovery I have made this semester.

I have experienced through this class, the connectivity of humanity through humor. Humor has brought me to my peers, has comforted me in my surroundings, and has taught me the meaning behind my laughter, and the necessity for it. To see the world through humor is to join together in a celebration of this incredible journey that we call life. Images and words have come alive throughout this semester, and spontaneously provoked within me a desire for life and an appreciation for both our differences, and our pains. In this strange world which we live in where there is so much that differentiates us, there is one thing that moves us all, that sooths us all, and that makes this life undeniably worth living.

To choose laughter is to choose life and I have truly come to the realization that a life without laughter would not be worth living. I am reminded of this everyday and know that this will stay with me forever. I digress this to you as a preamble for my final essay in which I will explore this more!