The New Hotness
By Chhun Sun
Columnist
Ok, just last week, a friend
spots me in a building where I was waiting to go into a classroom I later
discovered was the wrong one.
“What are you doing here in my building,” she asked.
“What building? This building? This is my building,” I say,
already conceiving the thought that I just made a sad attempt at a joke.
She gives me a blank stare, as if to say, “But, uh, anyway.”
Right then I wanted to smash my head into a willing wall several times
over and over again. What I said was probably the equivalent of using
the “your mama’s” comeback whenever someone insults
you so bad your brain stings. It’s also like trying to find a way
out of a maze alone without having a good sense of direction.
As soon as my friend walks away, I have this incredible sensation of delayed
genius, reliving the moment in my head. But this time, I have a different
comeback.
“What? Is this building named after you?” Maybe the retort
would have prompted a giggle at the very least, if not a hysterical combustion
of loud laughter.
Well, maybe not.
The point is: I need to develop quick-witted humor before I die knowing
I lived a life without much spontaneity when it comes to saying something
funny. We all should, actually.
Even if you are Drew Carey’s son and have the innate ability to
strike up something clever at a moment’s notice, there is always
room for more, especially in a world where saying the right thing at the
right time will earn you major points.
When you can come up with something fresh to say out of thin air like
a freestyle rapper who has the talent to make words rhyme with any beat,
it gets you noticed. It adds flavor to your charm. It may help you secure
the job you always wanted, or get the much-needed loan to score that dream
car or house, or save you from a hurtful insult.
Or maybe, just maybe, it might give you the extra edge to get the phone
number of the cutie you’ve been in love with ever since you clumsily
bumped into her at the playground, causing a permanent bruise on her right
shoulder. Well, that’s just me.
In the third grade, I was never good at dodgeball. When someone threw
the giant red rubber ball directly at my face at a very high speed, I
never had the kind of ability to throw it back. That kind of inability
lends itself to my humor. I know I need to work on it because in my experience,
an insult to the face hurts more than a rubber ball.
My experiences only place more importance to learn and develop a unique
sense of quick humor. It’s not just for the sake of looking handsomely
slick in front of others. It might save your life.
That’s why I think there should be a class taught at Fresno State
about developing funny expressions at the drop of a dime. Or, maybe, it’s
just me.
Chhun Sun is a senior majoring in Mass Communication and Journalism. The
New Hotness is a featured column that runs every Friday in The Collegian.
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