There comes a time in a girl’s life when she’ll begin to notice some changes. For some people, it might happen in elementary school. For others, it might not happen until college. It’s exciting and overwhelming and hard to understand until it happens to you. I was a bit of a late bloomer, but it’s fine, this is not a race. And no, I’m not talking about growing boobs: I’m talking about becoming funny.
It’s not like we just came out of the womb cracking jokes! Babies aren’t inherently funny, and, let’s be honest, most kids aren’t actually funny either. I mean, they do weird shit that we can laugh at, but there’s nothing original or intentional about their “brand of humor.” That takes time to develop—it starts when you’re young, building bit by bit somewhere in that brain of yours, and then one day, you’re really funny!
If you’re lucky, your mom (or your dad, if he’s feeling brave) will have a very honest discussion with you about this. She’ll teach you about sarcasm and irony, and about the pros and cons of puns. (Insert tam-pun joke here). It’s probably been a while since she became funny, and she won’t know it all—she’s probably never created a meme, for example—but she’s okay with you “experimenting” a bit. Things were different back when your mom was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, but it’s still nice to hear her say that “She understands, she was your age once!”
Once you become funny, you’re probably going to want to hang out with the other funny kids and start sitting with them at lunch. It’s easier that way. They understand you, and you’ll be able to have lots of mature, funny people conversations together. Well, mature except for the inevitable poop jokes.
Some people are going to be jealous that you’re funny. Watch out for these people. They’ll steal your jokes—the sneaky ones you mutter under your breath—and repeat them, but louder. A note to joke stealers: it’s okay if you’re not funny! Sitcoms are always looking for more people to sit in the audience and laugh at their non-jokes! But if you are not funny, do NOT steal our jokes. We can’t all be well-endowed in the humor department, and this joke plagiarism is the equivalent of stuffing your bra. Someday the metaphorical tissues will fall out, so please just be honest from the beginning. And remember:
An unexpected side effect of becoming funny: other people might start to notice you for it. And they’ll tell their friend to tell your friend that they think you are kind of funny but also you have cooties and smell weird. Later, after they’ve “grown up” a bit, they might feel brave enough to say it to your face. You’ll just be sitting in math class, minding your own business, and suddenly a boy will say “Wow, you’re funny!” It can be thrilling, but also scary—like you guess you’re funny, but do people even see you as more than your sense of humor anymore?
It will be important to be confident in your funniness. Also, boys, next time you feel like telling a girl she’s funny, don’t act surprised. And don’t assume that’s all she has to offer. When you become funny, make sure that people know that you’re not a one-trick pony. Like, sure, I can make you laugh, but did you know that I also have a charming personality and make a mean chocolate cake and sometimes walk into sliding glass doors?
As with all ~big changes~ there will be some growing pains. You’ll make some really bad jokes (which your dad will probably still laugh at and then try to steal). You’ll make some even worse puns (which no one will laugh at or try to steal). But it gets better, I promise! Keep making people laugh, and you’ll go places, kid.
Images by Annie Warner and via.
