The clown in me

“Do not allow difference of opinion or diversity of thought to separate you from your fellowmen, or to be the cause of dispute, hatred and strife in your hearts.”

I wrote this article during my Christmas vacation in Taguig when I felt the urge to write and enough silence to concentrate.

Being a Philosophy student, (the course I am taking by no choice...) we are encouraged to read extensively, for some obvious reasons, philosophical books. Though, some philosophies are really mentally challenging ( it takes a lot of patience, time to read and determination in order for you to grasp their essence and master them by mind and heart) you can still appreciate them for they are valuable and, more or less, practical in some degree. Since I am a fourth year student, I should be preparing now for my comprehensive examination and double my effort in reviewing my past lessons. However, the funny thing is these past few weeks I found myself being engrossed in reading comic books and I think most of my leisure time had spent in that activity. It was truly entertaining and it really helped me in releasing tensions and welcoming good vibes.

The books of Bob Ong are among my favourites. Perhaps, you had read some of them and I am sure you too had good times reading them. I bought some of them in the nearest book store while others are just borrowed from my generous classmates. The first time I read Bob Ong’s books, I was mesmerized on how skilful he is in organizing his ideas. The very reason why his books have become so popular, bestseller and widely-read among booklovers, I believe, because aside from being humorous, they are also informative, philosophical and easy-to-read. They contain funny and inspiring quotations about life, love and learning normally written in the conversational Filipino language. Most of his best lines really touched my heart; hence, I am already hooked with his literary works which replicate Filipino culture and traditions. No wonder why many Filipinos admire him for being such an effective and prolific writer even though his real identity is still unknown to the public.

Now, I am not writing this article just to promote his books or inform my reader that I am an avid fan of him, but rather, my purpose is to share the impact of reading this kind of books in my life, in my personality to be specific. I had discovered not too long time ago that I was like a “serious warrior.” I used to read purely philosophical, psychological and religious books, ignoring those humorous ones for I believe they are nonsensical. I thought comic books only cater to our senses and not worth of my time. But recently, I realized that there are authors who are adept in integrating humour, lessons about life and wonderful stories in a literary piece which once believed to be simply comic.

I have friends (Ries Paul is one of them) who are very good in delivering jokes. Ries Paul, as far as I could remember, was always successful in making us laugh every time he cracked jokes. Though most of them were repeatedly said but still he did not fail to entertain us. Thus, his absence was a big loss to our batch. I could not deny the truth that this person had influenced me in my sudden change of book preference. I read comic books perhaps because I long for the laughters we shared before especially during our meal time. I have been trying my best to be funny in our group. There were times that I was really funny but there were also moments that I looked ridiculous. Anyway, those awkward moments sometimes turned out to be the best moments we had and we recall them again and again. I have proven the truth behind the saying, “hanging out with friends can never be happy without the foolish one!”

Days ago, I had my encounter with this person I considered as my best friend ever since high school years. We had not met for almost a year and that is why each of us had a lot of stories to tell. This friend has been good to me. Ries Paul is nearly a perfect resemblance of him. He is fond of telling familiar, funny and practical (sometimes not funny but his gestures make them funny) stories that usually make our day. I easily burst into laughter whenever he tries to mimic funny faces. As usual, the first few minutes of our conversation was just laughing, teasing and gossiping (yes, boys sometimes do that). Normally, the best parts of our conversation are when we reminisce funny, “epic fail,” and unforgettable experiences we had in high school. See, until now there are things that we keep fresh in our memories. Maybe forgetting them is quite impossible for our friendship has rooted in them. Moreover, I could sense that our bonding is real when we recall those memorable experiences. I think that is the beauty of having a teenage friend. You will not run out of topic to talk about. Yes, this friend of mine has created a clown in me.

Sometimes, I envied him for being clever, humorous and natural in cracking jokes. I love his personality and how I wish people will identify me like him.  Definitely, I was motivated to be like him. Hence, I started reading funny stories and have tried telling them to my little cousins. At first, I looked strange to them for I was not like that before but after several days of practicing to my small audience, it comes out to be effective. Now, they see me as a cheerful, happy person. They feel comfortable with my company for they think I sometimes act like a child trying to fit with their taste and wants. In my part, I have earned positive results in my sudden transformation. Before I looked like a nerd with books in my sides, ‘kill joy’ and old-fashioned but now I’m a kind of comedian to them. Therefore, I made sure I have enough witty jokes in my pocket so that when somebody is bored I immediately come into rescue.

I love seeing people laugh for it makes life bearable in spite of the various problems that burden us every day. I do agree that “laughter is the best medicine” and it makes one looks younger. My best friend seems not grown in age. He still looks like a high school student not to mention the pimples on his face.

Whenever we have differing opinions, we do not easily bring them into an argument without agreeing to disagree. I respect his opinions as much as I value our friendship. Sometimes, he tends to display his superiority but I simply ignore it. When things become unpleasant, I typically state my conclusion with this, “ang importante ay yung mahalaga” translated as “what is essential is that is important” and that signals that we need to stop the argument. Everything is settled as simple as that without needless fight. Our friendship has come this far and I believe the elements of laughter, humility and understanding sustain our friendship.