You know that weird girl that you can hear laughing from across the high school? The girl whose laugh makes it sound like she is suffering a long and painful death of suffocation?

Hi, I’m Brooke. One question for you, what do you get when you cross a foghorn and a rocking chair? The answer: My laugh. My laugh is simply the ugliest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Not saying I don’t love it, but it is absolutely awful. If you imagine when windshield wipers get dry and make that horrible squeaking noise, it’s kinda like that. I know “ugly” is not an adjective you would normally use to describe a sound, but in this case, I say it is an exception. I’m sure I would be less concerned with my laugh if I did not laugh at absolutely everything. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I seem to find unfunny things especially hilarious, like kids’ shows, or that stupid joke about the chicken crossing the road. HA, silly chicken, how did it even get out of the farm? I also thoroughly enjoy laughing when I am not supposed to. Like during a silent class, in church, or in the middle of a serious team meeting. It falls out sometimes. Sue me. 

There has always been a saying that people who laugh at everything are the most lonely in life. That is a fib. A fable. A lie. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but I’m pretty sure I laugh at everything because I can. I am happy with my life and the people in it. Whether it be my family and friends, or random people I barely come in contact with. My family encourages my ugly laugh. They might be laughing at it, but when they laugh at the spooky noises that come out of me when I find something funny, that is an absolute win in my book. My friends do it too. I’ve gotten all the comments and questions you could imagine from them. “Omg are you okay, why does your laugh sound like that?” “Brooke can you even breathe?” “Listen to this vid of Brooke sounding like she’s getting vacuum sealed.” Yes, people obviously judge it, but I low key judge it too. Can you blame me though? It’s so horrible. Sometimes, when I’m not in a good mood, I look in the mirror and fake laugh until I actually laugh. Imagine having a life where you laugh at your own laugh to cure sadness? That is literally the best thing ever. It’s like free entertainment all the time. It is something that 1000% makes me, me. 

The people I have learned to surround myself with have made my laugh mean so much more. My laugh is not just something everyone, including myself, laughs at. It is something I use to express the absolute joy that people bring into my life. It shows people how much of an impact a stupid joke can have on someone, or even how it could simply change someones mood for the day. 

Photo by Marcela Rogante on Unsplash