SHARING THE SHOWS
I grew up in the 1990s, otherwise known as the golden era of The Simpsons. Every Thursday night at 7:59 (and then, eventually, Sunday), I’d rush to the television, eager to catch the latest antics of “dumbass Homer.” And, of course, other characters would do their thing. Bart would cause mischief. Lisa would be involved in some sort of cause, whether it be speaking out against a sexist rhetoric-spouting doll or trying to convert everyone to her newfound vegetarianism. And Marge would grumble, “Mmmmmmm…”
But this bit’s shaped a good chunk of my personality. I first saw it at the age of fifteen and pretty much laughed for the same length of time Mr. Burns did. I’ve found laughter to be a healthy therapeutic tool. As I began my career as a professor, I learned that a sizable portion of my job involved helping students manage the stress that came from the projects I assigned. Ironically, said projects, in combination with all their other work, created stress for them that needed to be managed. And I’d have to work to keep their stress from becoming mine. As an empath, I am prone to taking on others’ issues. I’d also became a fan of the Southern rock-style jam band Widespread Panic after having seen them at Richmond, Virginia’s iconic Altria Theater, and a few months later, at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Walnut Creek Pavilion. At one point, I connected that student panic was widespread throughout campus. So there would be Widespread Panic on campus. I posted this joke on Facebook and made I was laughing for ten minutes at said joke, much like Mr. Burns. Eventually, I did this four times per semester: 1) the Add/Drop period at the beginning of the semester; 2) Midterm Week; 3) the week leading up to the last day students could withdraw from classes with a “W” as opposed to an “F”; and 4) Finals Week. It got a lot of “laughing” reactions, as well as a small fanbase of people who looked forward to my Burnsesque antics. For example, why did the mushroom go to the party? Because he was a fungi! Hahahahhahaha…hahahhahahahah (10 minutes later) hahahahhahahahah…hahahahhahahahah (picks self up from floor, wipes tear from eye). So the point of this little ditty is to share ways I cope with stress. It’s important to have interests outside of one’s work, no matter how much you love it. And in academe, we tend to live and breathe our work (myself included). However, my love of The Simpsons and Widespread Panic helps keep me balanced. Once in a while, I’ll pop one of my DVDs in and laugh myself silly. And I’ll have a Widespread Panic show playing on my laptop while I’m writing reports, researching, or planning lessons. So how do you laugh for ten minutes? Well, it’s easy. But you don’t have to. You don’t even have to like Widespread Panic (although I don’t understand why you wouldn’t; I mean how could you not love their version of “Cream Puff War?”). But do find that thing that keeps you from taking work, and life, too seriously.
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