Wirtten by Jake Seo
One skill that I am proud of is being able to make others laugh easily. By making others laugh, it naturally comes with enjoying laughing with others, and creating bonds and relationships through it is something that I value very highly. One of the main effects of having this skill is that I am able to make new friends and grow closer to existing ones.
To me, this talent comes naturally and happens more often when I am around people that I am close to and have existing personal relationship with.. Having this gift helps me to be able to be closer to my peers at school and helps me to be perceived as easier to talk to, which in turn makes me a better friend. Overall, I think being able to make others laugh has helped me to interact with new people and get to know them very much.
Not only does laughter help me with friendships, but it also helps with relationships between my family and teachers at school as well. On family vacations that we go on, I always try to stay positive and include humor for a lighter mood, which I think is important because it is easy to become frustrated while navigating in a new environment, especially if you don’t speak a native language in another country. By always trying to make my parents laugh, whether it be a simple joke or pun, I think that I have contributed to a healthy relationship between me and my parents, and even between my parents as well. At school, I try to always to maintain good relationships with my teachers, by trying to interact with them more, whether it be asking for help on homework or just simple conversation by dropping in to say hello after school. The experience that I have gained in building relationships through being able to laugh with others has helped me greatly.
Outside of school, various extracurricular activities I do involve other people whom I may or may not know. Regardless, actively trying to laugh with them helps me to grow relationships with them which makes coordinating on tasks during those extracurricular activities to be easier.
For example, in my research group with some of my peers, it was awkward to talk to them at first because I didn’t know them at all and went to different schools. However, because I put in the effort to try to talk and joke about relatable things that teens go through, I think that it allowed us to become more closer and be a batter team for the research we were conducting overall.
During an internship of my winter semester of Junior year, I was able to complete projects and present information to my supervisors through close communication and having a strong partnership from having a good relationship, ultimately stemming from sharing a laugh.