Get Silly!
By Maddie Alpert on Mon, 11/01/2010 - 14:04
Reason #45 that college is better than high school: I get to be silly here! In the past, I’d come home from GLI every summer wishing that I could continue to play the silly theater games like WOOSH! and Bop every morning, because I had so much fun playing them. Outside of those games, I’ve never really felt comfortable approaching that same level of "spaz," and I never felt like that was a problem. Silliness was not one of the GLI lessons that I tried to take home with me. That’s changed since coming to college.
For some reason, the social environment at my college is so much more open, friendly, and nonjudgmental than the one at my high school. It reminds me of GLI, actually. It’s easy to feel comfortable being yourself here, which leads to an environment that embraces all people weird and dorky. My roommate, my boyfriend, and a bunch of my friends are incredibly wacky and ridiculous, and I think that made me feel comfortable being silly around them. Then, I realized how wonderful it was so I started acting that way around everyone.
For me, acting silly isn't just liberating, stress relieving, and a whole lot of fun. It can also strengthen my relationships. Whenever me or my roommate Caroline is stressing over homework, that means it’s “10 minute dance party” time and we sing and dance in the craziest way possible. When she was stressed out last week and needed to vent, we decided to write a song out of all the bizarre metaphors she used to describe her feelings (“Maddie, I feel like there’s a bee in my blood buzzing constantly with existentialist anxiousness.”). I’ve been just as aware of my emotions and how my friends and I are feeling. The difference is that I’ve been able to laugh at myself and take things more lightly, and that makes a big difference in my happiness and stress levels.
Another reason why acting silly is so important to me is that it helps stop thinking so much about everything I say or do, and I think it’s helped me get rid of my filter a little bit. Last week, my friend said something that reminded me of the GLI game “Big Booty,” so I sang it and then taught 10 friends to do it too, I would have never done that in high school. I worry about the things that I say less, and don’t wonder as often about what other people think of me.
Whether these changes in me are causing the silliness or a result of the silliness, I know that they are for the better. I feel free, and my relationships are stronger. I'm realizing that being open and crazy makes everything more fun, and when my friends and I are silly together it establishes a feeling of being safe to say something ‘weird,’ or ‘wrong’ or ‘uncool,’ and that’s been making me feel a lot more comfortable. When I don’t have to worry constantly about doing something that will cost me a friendship, I feel more comfortable being honest. Being a silly spaz feels amazing, and it took getting older and more mature for me to find that out. You should try it, too!
Posted in:
- 0 Comments
- Add a Comment