Laughing at a wedding

      This is a serious problem for me. Now usually I am not the one saying the vows, but I am known to start laughing at the worst possible moment. This has happened during my schools moment of silence, my great uncles funeral, and while speaking at my cousins wedding. Each time has been incredibly awkward. My favorite story was when I was speaking at my cousins wedding. I come from a huge family. I have tons of aunts and uncles, which means I have tons of cousins. My cousin was the first one to get married out of all of us. Like every wedding, it was a big deal and she chose me to speak in the wedding. She had been in my parents wedding and she found it fitting that I was to be in hers. She sent me the verses she wanted me to read and for weeks I practiced them. When the day finally came I was ready, I knew them by heart. I got to the podium to say the verses and looked at the sheet and then started to read the verses, I looked at the congregation and back down at the sheet and bursted into laughter. It wasn't just a small laugh. It was a full laugh, one that caused the whole congregation to start laughing with me. By the time I got it under control I had forgotten my place and just decided to start over. Afterwards I returned to my seat, bright red. After the ceremony my Aunt came up to me and I was terrified that she would be upset with me because I ruined the wedding, but instead she hugged me and thanked me for adding some fun into the wedding.

       I think we laugh at times like these because we are uncomfortable. It has to do with what is happening around us and it makes us feel out of place. When Bo Burnham makes references to things like the Holocaust and 9/11 we laugh because we are uncomfortable. We laugh out of a need for relief. It is a chance to laugh about something that is so awkward to think about making fun of. If we were to just laugh to make fun of it then it would be considered rude and terrible.