1. Lauren Hardman<br />English 2010 – Section 103<br />Montague/ February 16, 2011<br />This I Believe<br />Time after time, I delight in digging through old home videos and watching them either by myself or with family and friends. It does not matter if I’ve seen the video twenty times or if it has poor quality because it’s an old VHS tape; I still spend time watching. Why would I want to watch such videos of the days when I attempted to dress myself and wore hideous combinations, or when my athletic performance was pathetic and the team I played for could have certainly done well without me? I watch because these moments allow me to laugh at myself.<br />I believe it is necessary to laugh at myself. I find it to be completely exhilarating and I feel so alive when I allow myself to do so. I often find myself stressed out and extremely tense so allowing myself to have a good laugh relieves me of those unwanted feelings. Of course it doesn’t completely remove the anxieties of my world, but it helps keep me going day after day.<br />I am content when telling a joke I think is hilarious, even if no one else finds it funny. I am also content with others seeing pictures of me from years ago when I had braces and acne. Even the times when I’m reminded of embarrassing moments of stupidity like when I rear ended a good friend because I focused my attention on something other than the road; I am still content. I am OK with these things because I can laugh with dignity and my day is brightened because of it.<br />I figured out I must be comfortable in my own skin to laugh at myself when around others. It doesn’t matter if the world thinks I’m weird, or immature, or ridiculous, it matters how I feel about myself. I know I am human and that I’ll make mistakes, but so does everybody else. Knowing this fact empowers me to laugh at past choices and situations-if of course it’s appropriate. There would certainly be no laughter in a mistake which caused harm to someone else. A time such as when I shrunk my husband’s shirt in the dryer to a youth’s size; however, does call for a laugh. <br />It makes complete sense why friends and family find a way to make me laugh when my spirits are down. The laughter helps me cope with stress, which causes me to feel the need to incorporate it into my everyday living. My soul truly rejuvenates every time I laugh at myself and this is the very reason I believe in laughing at myself. <br /> <br />