Uncontrollable Laughter in the Wee Hours of the Morning

My fondest, and most dreaded, memories from college will without a doubt come from the numerous hours I have sent in the Mary Couts Burnett Library. Even as I write this I sit in a Frog Pod named "club lib life" working until the early hours of tomorrow. What makes the endless stream of readings, over-lit computer screens, and watered down coffee bearable is the fact that I sit here with friends who share my struggle and who somehow find ways to make it a little less miserable.

A few nights ago there was a large group of us crammed into a small study pod, all furiously taking notes and writing papers we waited way too long to start. Someone, I do not remember who, came out of the haze of studying long enough to realize there was a white board in the pod, and that she had brought erasable markers. It was decided that, since we would all be there until the sun came up, we would write all the funny things that were said on the board and use it as a sort of study break. What resulted was two of the most ridiculous drawings I have seen college students produce.

The first featured a drawing done by my friend Jessica of us all going on an "adventure", which quickly escalated into a story about how we were crossing a bridge to go to taco bell in Gratchet City. "Gratchet" is the nickname we gave to my friend Gretchen, combining her name with the term "rachet"(it means something is just a hot mess, basically). I somehow ended up as the bridge troll in the story where it was raining waffles and I was kept company by a bird (they all thought this was hilarious because of my fear, I was not as amused). On the picture you can also see the word "Gangle" was fabricated to describe the picture of my friend Sloan, who was drawn abnormally tall. I'm not confident where the banana came from, but at this point I was not questioning and just letting it all happen.

At midnight we decided to erase this drawing and start all over. New day, new picture! This time the pod was named "#gratchet2.0" and started out with Mary Kate, a graphic design major, drawing an elaborate typography picture of a favorite quote from New Girl. Events that happened throughout the night were added, such as the guy who passed us stealing a rolling white board and our friend Ali completely ignoring us. Some iPhone emojis got added around 2am, and I again cannot explain the pac-man or why I was drawn. Either way, it provided something to check in on and enjoy when we came up for air during our studies.

Although I know this post will not be funny to anyone else, I cannot help but look back at these pictures and find them hilarious. It was definitely one of those "you had to be there" moments, but that is exactly what makes it so special. As I talked about in my previous laughter post, inside jokes are the moments of laughter that make me laugh to the point of tears and stay with me the longest. It is the intimate connection that comes from them, in this case the shared misery, which causes them to last in my memory. These random and meaningless drawings serve as a relief from studying, and a release of all the pent up stress that being a college student can cause. Moreover, they solidify friendships and give special opportunities for bonds to be formed, which I believe is one of the most important functions that humor and laughter can have.

The real kicker of the whole experience: When I walked by the pod a week, (a whole SEVEN DAYS) later, Mary Kate's quote drawing was still on the board.