This is the time of the semester where we feel the pressure of everything starting to cave in. From schoolwork, to the never-ending list of extra curricular activities, to trying to maintain our social lives, we begin to drown in everyday responsibilities. As we try to breathe and stay above water, we forget to enjoy the process. We forget not to take life so seriously and the things we are worrying about today won't even matter in a few months. We forget that all we have this life is the journey, and we should enjoy it to the fullest, no matter what life throws at us.
I challenge you. Laugh at yourself. When you stumble walking to class, laugh at yourself. When you do badly on a quiz (grieve a little) then laugh at yourself for your bad guesses. When you have way to much stuff to study before tomorrow, sing the information to yourself. When you say a bad pun, still laugh at yourself!! We need to stop taking ourselves so seriously. I learned this best in Nicaragua.
Even when we were packed on a tiny bus for 13 hours feeling like we were about to die, we were still laughing at it. When we had an essay due that we hadn't even started we would laugh at how we had to BS it. When I botched words in Spanish that changed the meaning of a sentence, my host family would burst into laughter. We would continue to use the wrong words for the rest of the semester as a joke. I learned not to take myself so seriously and it was the best lesson ever. When we don't take ourselves so seriously, others around us become more important. Laughter really us the best medicine to our stress and fears. We can't forget to refill that prescription. So I challenge, laugh at yourself today.