Laughs at the Zoo

After a day at the zoo, I discovered that people, adults and children alike, do not find animals all that funny. No, it was not laughter that filled the air, but rather shouts of excitement and exclamation. The spectators saw the animals as remarkable, not funny. Something to be admired and not laughed at. Of course laughter was present at the zoo, but it is present anywhere you bring together friends and family. The laughter I witnessed stemmed from interactions between people and not from their observations of the animals. For example, an animal is not even visible in the video shown above. The children are simply running across a bridge and laughing at each other's reactions to it. This example also proves the theory that laughter is contagious. After the first kid jumps, it starts a chain reaction of laughing as everyone else jumps as well. It also shows that laughter is the most effective amongst children. All it took was a walk across a bridge and one little jump to send them all head over heels. I find it hard to believe that if the kids were replaced with adults, the result would have been the same.  

Conversation Partner #3

This past week I met with Saeed for the third and final time. Unfortunately, since we were not able to start meeting till late in the semester, our conversations were limited to three. Although there were only a few, I enjoyed each of our meetings immensely and can only hope that we will be able to reconnect in the future. As for our conversation, it started up were it had left off during our last meeting. We talked for the most part about Saeed's plans for after he graduated. This continued to be the easiest thing for him to communicate, most likely because he is so passionate about it. During this conversation, he focused on primarily on his hope to obtain a CFA, or the Charted Financial Analyst credential. I had never heard of this before, but according to Saeed it is essential to first earn your CFA before trying to start your own business. It was impressive to hear how organized he was. He has his whole future planned out in steps with all of them ultimately leading to his dream of owning his own business. Saeed spoke about how important it was for him to have this high level of structure so as not to lose sight of his dream. He also mentioned how having a series of short-term, obtainable goals was a must, rather than one impossible goal. Of course, he has his dream, but according to him, that dream is only obtainable if he sets realistic goals that he can achieve without getting frustrated. Again, it was impressive to hear about this level of commitment and dedication he has put into his dream. The rest of our conversation consisted of talking about differences between his home country of Saudi Arabia and the United States. While he admitted to there being many differences between the two, he was quick to point that he believed the biggest difference between the two was their cultures. He did not give in any specific examples, but continued to repeat how liberal the United States was compared to Saudi Arabia. According to him, this was one of the main reasons he and his wife decided to move to the United States three years ago. He admitted that this change in culture was at first rather difficult to adapt to, but after getting settled, he and his wife have come to love both the US and its people. There are also many things that the two of them miss from their home. Thankfully, they have been able to meet many other Saudi Arabians who have made their home in the US, making it that much easier to live so far away from their country of origin. Despite getting to meet with him only three times, I greatly enjoyed getting to know Saeed and wish the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Conversation Partner #2

My second meeting with Saeed took place in the BLUU. The meeting started off on a high note with a bit of humor. We had scheduled and cancelled so many meetings in the BLUU that finally getting to actually meet there was a little weird and caused us both to laugh. This served to break the ice and ease us into the easy-going conversation we had experienced in our first meeting. I continue to marvel  at how we have been able to talk so effortlessly despite our lack of time together. I credit this to the Intensive English Program at TCU as well as Saeed's commitment to the program. This commitment is impressive because, as I learned during this meeting, he is not the typical college student. Saeed is close to thirty years old so he not only faces the stresses of being a student, but must also work to support his wife and the family they are hoping to start soon. On top of that, he is also taking business classes at night. Saeed talked a bit about how all these commitments can sometimes become rather stressful, but he also mentioned how supportive his wife is of him and that they both know that many good things will stem from his studies. After hearing about the business classes, I asked Saeed what he wanted to do after school. When I asked, his face immediately lit up and he began to talk about his dream of owning his own business. Back in Saudi Arabia, he worked as a banker because he has always been very good with finances. It is his hope to take this skill and the knowledge from his business classes and open a self-run business. This was one of the main reasons he came to the United States. Here is able to get the education he needs at a reasonable price, something that he could not do in Saudi Arabia. He did mention that one thing he did not like about business in the United States was having to take the GMAT. We were able to connect over this because I, being a premed student, will eventually have to take the MCAT so we were able to complain to each other about the stresses of taking these standardized tests. Because of the age and cultural differences between us, this was the first topic we really had in common. It just goes to show that the hatred of standardized tests is recognized all around the world.

Conversation Partner #1

After one partner change, four rescheduled meetings, and plenty of frustration, I was able to finally meet my conversation partner for the first time at the Intensive English Program banquet. His name is Saeed and he is from Saudi Arabia. Going into this meeting I was nervous because not only is he from a different country, but he is also close to thirty years old. This combination of both a culture and age gap caused me to worry that there would be very little we could talk about. Fortunately, these worries were quickly dispelled as soon as we sat down to talk. The first thing I noticed was that Saeed's English was much better than I expect. To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect in terms of his language proficiency, but I definitely did not expect it to be as high as it was. Not once did he need help with a word or for me to repeat something I had said. This made the conversation smooth and easy. He was also extremely friendly, introducing me to several of his friends within the program and sharing some dates, a common snack in his home country. Because the banquet was on a Friday, Saeed had religious obligations that forced us into a shorter than desired meeting. Our brief time together allowed for only the most basic of introductions such as names, majors, and hobbies. Despite the brevity of our meeting, I considered it a success and could not wait for the next one.

It is All About Who You Know

My most recent learning experience involved proving right the common phrase "It's all about who you know." These six simple words can be found anywhere from the latest Hollywood blockbuster to a casual conversation between friends. Despite being ubiquitous in our society, I had never really believed it to be true. Basically what this phrase is implying is that the secret to success lies not in our merit or our accomplishments, but rather in our relationships. Being a self-diagnosed introvert, I always chose to believe the opposite, that even if we kept to ourselves, our actions would be enough to pick up the slack. I convinced myself I had to think this way because I have never been good at starting and fostering new relationships. A few close relationships with friends and family have been all I ever needed. But my first few years at college has forced me to change this mindset. Unfortunately for me, it kinda is all about who you know. Now of course it isn't ALL about who you know. If the world was run like that we might as well start electing kings and creating royal families Game of Thrones style. No, it is not that extreme, but it does play a much larger role in the achievement of success then I would have thought back in high school. What I have discovered is that relationships lead to opportunities and opportunities lead to success. Success is possible without them, but relationships provide a much easier route. For me this has been a bittersweet epiphany. On one hand, I have to rely more on communication and being charismatic than just my merit, a new and sometimes very difficult process for me. On the other hand, it has allowed me to meet a bevy of remarkable people that I would not have reached out to in the past. And like I said before, it opens countless doors to all sorts of different opportunities that would not be available otherwise. So in short, I have been converted from the boy who spends most of his time alone to the boy who is ready and willing to keep on meeting all of the wonderful people this world has to offer.

Negative Humor

This weekend, I was exposed to negative humor. This humor came in the form of a comment/joke a friend of mine made to another friend while a group of us were eating lunch. Being a group of college aged boys, it was only natural that we all give and receive our fair share of "crap," but this specific comment crossed the accepted line of what is ok. Just to give a little background, the friend the comment was made about is a college football player and the friend who made the comment was not an athlete in the slightest. Although I cannot remember the exact wording, the comment was meant to imply that because the one friend was a football player, he was not as intelligent or as studious as the average non-athlete student. Obviously, the football player, who cared greatly and put a lot of effort into academics, was insulted by this insinuation. After seeing that his words had caused some insult, the teller of the joke quickly apologized and there were no hard feeling between the two, but it just went to show that even jokes told in good nature can still be hurtful. I think in this case, the joke really found a soft spot because his academic work ethic/intelligence is something that he can and is trying to improve and control. Many examples of negative humor, while still hurtful, are made about things that people can't change, like their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Again, I don't mean to say that comments that attack these subjects are any less hurtful, but they cannot be changed. To be made fun of for something that you are actively trying to improve can be especially devastating.

Horror Movies are Funny Too

At the start of this semester, I never would have thought one of my unrestrained laughter blog posts would involve a horror movie. As many of you probably know, horror movies are designed to produce screams, not laughs, so why in the world would this specific instance result in the latter. The answer is that it was not the movie that was the subject of ridicule, but rather the reaction of one of the viewers to a certain scene. The movie in question was Anabelle, the story of a creepy doll that becomes possessed by a demon and drives a young mother to the brink of insanity. The scene that provoked the outlandish reaction involved the mother looking under the bottom of a closed door when suddenly the doll appears out of nowhere on the other side. Basically, it was an example of the classic horror movie scene in which everyone in the audience knows that something is going to pop out, yet still get scared even when it does. Now, the normal response to a scene like this would be to jump in your seat or maybe even let out a little scream, but what this viewer did resembled neither. No, what she did was much closer to a cheer or a "whoop," something you might hear at a TCU football game. Of course, the rest of the audience, myself included, were not prepared for this out of place response and the incongruity of the situation immediately caused us to break out in laughter. The movie had reached a climactic, terrifying moment and she was cheering? It was obvious that she was scared and not actually cheering, but that fact did nothing to stifle our laughter.

Why So Serious?

During my time in college, I have noticed a somewhat upsetting trend. People take everything a little too seriously. Before I go on, I just want to clarify that I'm not saying this about all people, but just as a general observation I have noticed overtime. With that said, people desperately need to learn to just chill out and relax sometimes. A lot of college students just seem to be a little more tightly wound than others. It might have something to do with college being the time in our lives where we are supposed to discover our true passions and pave the road for our entire futures..... Okay, so I admit that college is an important and stressful time in our lives, but treating every little thing as a life or death situation is not going make it any more enjoyable and rewarding. Now I don't want to be hypocritical. I too have fallen prey to this ailment. I've had times of worry, anxiety, and seriousness to rival most stringent of students, but I have never once felt like I have benefited from them. During spring break, I experienced one of these sudden transformations from a happy go lucky college student into a sullen middle aged man. For some reason, the middle aged man part of me was trying to convince the college student part that my spring break should be spent studying and getting ahead in my classes rather than relaxing and spending time with friends and family. The sad part is the middle aged man part was winning. If it wasn't for a valiant effort from some of my friends, my spring break very well could of consisted of me sitting inside with my head buried in a book and I am eternally grateful to them that it didn't. Instead I spent my time with them and with my family doing fun things a college student should do over spring break. Not only did I have a kick-ass time, but I came back to school with a refreshed mind, ready to dive back into the tough part of school. So my point is this: college does require us to be serious and to take the influence this time has over our futures seriously. But in order to do this and stay somewhat sane at the same time, we also have to learn to relax and take a break sometimes. I was lucky and learned this lesson the easy way.

Laughing at Laughter

We have all heard the phrase "laughter is contagious" and I am sure all of us have experienced this phenomenon many times throughout our lives. I recently witnessed one such example, but this specific instance was a tad bit different than what I had become accustomed to.

To me, it always seemed like laughter's contagious tendency was put into effect when one individual found something humorous, but others did not. Said individual would begin laughing, which would signal to the others that this thing indeed is funny and their laughter would soon follow. Never did I actually believe that the individual's laughter itself was what caused the others to take up the act, but just a catalyst used to reveal the true humorous nature of the thing in question.

My perceptions on the subject have recently been altered due an incident in one of my lectures this past week. While writing on the whiteboard, a professor of mine quite suddenly and without warning began to laugh. It was quite obvious that the cause of this laughter was unknown to all of us students because no one else was joining in. This also made it impossible for his laughter to make the cause seem more funny to us because we had no idea what the cause was. But as the professor continued to laugh and laugh, we found ourselves beginning to join in. Not because suddenly the cause had become clear (that will forever remain a mystery), but simply because he was laughing. There is no other way to put this experience then that we were laughing at laughter.

I have now become convinced the contagious ability of laughter is not a signal for others to think something is funny, but instead stems from the fact that laughter is inherently humorous. Even without cause, the sound of laughter is amusing enough to us that it can cause us too to start laughing. So whenever you find yourself cracking up, but cannot seem to find the reason why, I would bet that someone had already initiated the laughing and you were simply a helpless victim to the most powerful contagion known to man.

Everything is Not How it Seems

This weekend I found myself in the Harris Medical Emergency Room. Before anyone starts to worry, I was there simply to observe the physicians, not because I was sick or injured in anyway. While I know people will be both comforted by my safety and disappointed by the lack of excitement, I will still try and continue with the story as best I can, even without the added danger and suspense. No my time in the ER did not include either, but was rather filled with realization that many of my preconceived notions about this place were wrong. Like any wide-eyed premed student, I came into this observation with that idea that an ER was a place filled with blood, gore, and all manner of fast paced excitement seen on hospital television shows. Of course, I was not so naive as to think that a real ER would be like the ones on TV, but I also did not expect what I did end up seeing. Instead of gunshot wounds and car accidents, I saw an elderly woman who's only symptom was the fear of death, a drug addict looking to get another fix, and a pregnant woman who believed her back pain was early contractions. But while I marveled at what seemed to be an unusually slow night, I also began to notice that the staff did not share my disbelief. No, to the dozens of doctors, nurses, scribes, ambulance drivers, and other employees, this is what an average day at the office looked like.

The point of this story is that my perceptions are constantly being broken down and reformed. At this point in my life in which I continue to try new things, my young naive mind is exposed to the real world at a rate much greater than anything I experienced before coming to school. My trip to the ER is just one example of dispelling an immature perception by actually going out and seeing it for myself instead of relying on what I see on TV, read in a book, or hear from a person. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn, something that cannot be replicated in a classroom, but, I believe, is still essential to our experience as college students.

What is Humor?

For this post, I asked three people a series of questions about the topic of humor and laughter. The questions were "what is humor?", ""what is laughter?", "what makes people laugh?", and what is the difference between positive and negative humor?" I chose to interview people of differing age to observe whether or not their answers to these questions was affected by this difference.

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Define Literature and Civilization

I interviewed three TCU students about what they thought the definition of literature and civilization is. I also asked them what they thought would be covered in a class titled "Literature and Civilization." Here's what they said:

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