Why Diane should attend therapy, Reason 1:

Humor

Humor is something that is so important to me. I usually joke around with my friends, saying things like, "Funny is all I have!" They usually respond with laughter, assuring me that I am, in fact, one of the funniest people they know.

Phew.

I grew up in a family that prided itself in quick and witty banter. If you wanted to fit in my family, you had to be funny and fast. You needed to say the right thing at the right time for the right amount of time. Even the funniest quip could be slaughtered if it went on for too long. I spent the greater amount of my childhood years in a humor trial-and-error phase, trying out jokes and punchlines at the dinner table. Some where accepted with a polite laugh, some were shut down immediately.

From early on, I knew that my dad was extremely funny. He became the standard; if he laughed at something, I should laugh too. Consequently, if I said something "funny" and he didn't laugh, it was a failure, even if other people enjoyed it.

For better or worse, humor has been a journey for me my entire life. Just recently, my dad responded to an email that I wrote, saying, "You are really funny. I laughed out loud in my office. I hope I had a little something to do with the humor you have developed".

Understatement.

So, my friend recently wrote on his blog about one of his friends. She is 18, he is 19. He wrote, "She is the funniest person I know. No need to worry; she is impossible to compete with". This was like a stab in the back. I know he didn't mean to insult me, I am not that self-absorbed. But it was painful to me to see that one of my closest friends didn't write that about me; instead, giving the title to an 18 year old who makes funny noises and does crazy dances. Funny?! I would like to think that my funny is a bit more refined and styled. Oh, I sound like a pathetic ass.