The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

Always take your medicine

alexi

Students need to realize that it’s more important to laugh and enjoy their time in high school because their time here is coming to an end. Photo illustration by Lauren Sulkowski.
Students need to realize that it’s more important to laugh and enjoy their time in high school because their time here is coming to an end. Photo illustration by Lauren Sulkowski.

 

 

 

I have shed many tears on the grounds of Glenbrook North. Tears triggered by test grades, by teachers and by stress in general. However, while reflecting on the past four years I have realized that the best, most worthwhile tears I shed were triggered by laughter.

GBN houses numerous humorous souls. On the first day of school of each year I would get to my class and determine if I would like it based on if I thought there was potential to laugh. I figured if I could laugh, I would enjoy learning.

I’ve learned that humor has a way of creating automatic connections and relationships. English teacher Kate Coupland is one of my favorites because of just that, her sense of humor. Within the first week, she and I realized that we had a similar outlook on life and were able to laugh at the same things. Because of this, I was “that kid” who was still laughing at a comment while the rest of the class quieted down. I would come home and immediately share her stories from class with my parents.

This teacher may not realize that her simple jokes and quick comments made such an impact on my high school career. Knowing that there was an adult in the building that I could laugh and let off steam with was the most comforting feeling. I still remember her one-liners from sophomore year two years later, as odd as that is. When the year ended I worried I would never experience that amount of laughter in a class again.

Boy, was I wrong.

During my senior year I was assigned to a class with two of my best friends. When we found out, we were so excited that we didn’t realize the potential trouble we could cause. Now, we never got in trouble by the teacher…but we were judged by our classmates. We were sitting in class and our teacher, who had a very dry sense of humor, started to tell us a story. He got to the punch line and my friends and I looked at each other and started choking with laughter. I tried to take a sip of my water. However, that didn’t go well as I spit most of it out. Only five minutes later did I realize that we were the only people in the room who had even chuckled. The kids around us mumbled “care to share with the class?” They thought we were nuts.

Some people would title that “an embarrassing moment.” I prefer to call it “a moment I’ll never forget.”
I was always able to find a way to laugh in high school whether it was in class, at an assembly or during a passing period. The adrenaline rush accompanied by the tears streaming down my face is the feeling I will take with me as I exit high school.

So this is my piece of advice to whomever is reading this: laugh. Laugh out loud and laugh often because let’s face it, it’s the best medicine.