...but why?

Throughout my childhood and most of high school, I was a pretty quiet kid. I always sat in the back of the bus, the corner of the classroom and only spoke when spoken to. It's not so much that I was shy, I just preferred to watch. You learn more by observing. Then towards the end of high school and heading into CEGEP (a two year stint between high school and university in Quebec) I became a little more comfortable being a part of the action, whether at school or otherwise. Slowly but surely, I began to enjoy being the source of entertainment for my friends, either intentionally or not.

Looking back on that time it might have seemed like I was looking for attention throughout my two years in CEGEP. At various times my hair was blond, red or blue. I sported every conceivable style of facial hair and threw in a couple piercings for good measure. I wore bright and colourful clothes just because if I saw someone else wearing them it'd probably make me laugh. It wasn't really a rebellion. I wasn't trying to make a statement with anything I did. It simply amused me. In some classes, I would throw out one-liners every chance I got. Even a couple teachers would pause and say "Good one". Then in some internet survey that was emailed around, a few people wrote that I was the funniest person they knew. I was probably a little too proud of that. Those emails might as well have been a trophy for me.

I also had the pleasure of growing up in a large family where poking fun at each other isn't just the norm, it's practically our pastime. Several of my most cherished memories are from family reunions. Tales of mischief are requisite conversation for any gathering of family and friends. Even our ritual Sunday dinner rarely goes by without my dad telling us stories that happened 30 years ago. Making fun of people and being made fun of is just my idea of a good time.

During a particularly jolly Christmas visit a few years ago, my cousins came over to our house. My cousin's girlfriend had never been to our place before and I overheard her say to him something along the lines of "Everyone's so happy here, it's just constant laughter! It's crazy!". I immediately thanked her for the compliment and to this day think it was one of the nicest things anyone's ever said about me or my family.

What it all boils down to is, I'm just a sucker for comedy. I'm just as likely to be trying to lighten the mood as I am to be laughing out loud alone in my house.

Laughter is the soundtrack to my life and I want to crank up the volume.