As a student navigating her first semester in college on the other side of the country, I have experienced many factors that have completely changed my life. I had to adjust to the new difficulty of academics, manage my time without adult supervision, and balance my social life. Although it’s been very stressful at times, I’ve learned through experience that taking time for myself and surrounding myself with things I enjoy has been helping – and I’ve been majoring in Natural Sciences on the pre-med track, meaning that I have lots to share about the science behind why being silly helps.
During midterm season, I was often stressed and overwhelmed by the many tests I had back-to-back. During this one week, I had a Chemistry test on Tuesday and a Biology test on Wednesday, which made me feel like I wasn’t prepared enough for both. Luckily, my mood was lifted by my college friends living in the same dorm as me, who reminded me that college is not just about academics, but about getting to know the people around me from all over the country.
As I had already studied in my dorm the entire day, my friends in a larger group chat told me that we should all head out to the Chinese American Student Association’s (CASA) comedy show featuring invited performer Joe Wong. For two hours, I listened to him crack jokes about his backstory (he was initially a biochemist and decided to pursue stand-up comedy!) and many other things that I could relate to. There, I was able to take my mind off the stress and got to laugh with my friends, the club members, and even the comedian himself. By the end of the performance, I could no longer think about how stressful midterms had been and was optimistic that I would be able to continue working in a much happier mood. In the end, I performed well on both my exams and could do so without the amount of stress that I originally had.
This is not just limited to me. Science shows that laughter stimulates circulation and helps your muscles relax, leading to less tension and helping us lessen stress and anxiety levels. In the future, I’m definitely going to continue remembering to laugh and to surround myself with friends who will take my mind off stressful situations, especially since college can be overwhelming. I hope that you all also remember to embrace small and silly moments, and to keep laughing your way through life.