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It seems like there 麻豆精品 S檚 nothing to laugh about anymore. But maybe we should start laughing. Like immediately. Because humor can help strengthen our resolve and help us get through this crisis. Really.
I remember being about 10 and watching the old M*A*S*H TV show with my father. I asked, 麻豆精品 S淒ad, all these people are dying and the doctors keep making jokes. 麻豆精品 S� He looked at me and answered, 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 how they get through it. 麻豆精品 S�
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So while we 麻豆精品 S檙e waiting for a vaccine and even a cure, we need to write our own prescriptions for laughter.
Even the most casual of Google searches yields a ton of research on the physical and emotional benefits of humor. Laughing stimulates organs, relieves stress responses, and improves your immune system. (Take that, COVID-19!) Laughing soothes tension through stimulating circulation and helps in muscle relaxation. Having a good laugh can even relieve pain, increase personal satisfaction and, of course, improve your mood.
In a difficult situation, laughing helps you connect with others. This is what my father was trying to tell me.
My father also said you don 麻豆精品 S檛 have to be a good-looking guy to pick up women; you just have to be funny. What he wanted to say was, 麻豆精品 S淟ook, Peter, you 麻豆精品 S檙e just not that good looking, so you better work on those one-liners, otherwise you 麻豆精品 S檙e in for a world of rejection. 麻豆精品 S�
While quarantined at home, many of us have rediscovered our crafts and hobbies and the agony of a 2,000 piece puzzle missing the final piece. But have you put laughter on your to-do list? Why not? The website wikiHow has a 12-step guide to making someone laugh (including yourself). Tell a joke, use puns, be witty or sarcastic, use one-liners and comebacks, and be self-deprecating. Do impressions, use slapstick comedy, parody something, and the list goes on. Perhaps your humble narrator has used some of these techniques in the very column you 麻豆精品 S檙e reading 麻豆精品 S�.
What 麻豆精品 S檚 more, in both my university teaching career and as an indoor cycling instructor, humor has been a primary tool to help my students forget about the agony of learning or the torture of exercise. In academia, especially in face-to-face classes, I use accents and hyperbole to keep students awake. In a bad British accent, I might raise my voice and ask, 麻豆精品 S淔or ten thousand dollars and an A in the course, who knows what the critical path is in game design? 麻豆精品 S� As the hands go up, I might add, 麻豆精品 S淎re you willing to state your answer in the voice of Yoda from Star Wars? Only the best impressions will receive the prizes. All others will immediately fail the course. 麻豆精品 S�
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I know. None of this is easy. Some days you don 麻豆精品 S檛 know whether to laugh or cry.
Go for the laugh. Every time. Laugh your head off. Laugh your way to the grocery store beneath your mask. Do some LOLing as my college-aged daughters might say. Watch stand-up comedians on your streaming service.
You 麻豆精品 S檙e building up your immune system. You 麻豆精品 S檙e learning how to get through it. That 麻豆精品 S檚 right! We 麻豆精品 S檒l show this nasty virus who gets the last laugh.
Peter Telep is a senior instructor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of English. He can be reached at Peter.Telep@ucf.edu.
The聽UCF Forum聽is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on UCF Today and then broadcast on WUCF-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the University of Central Florida.
