Just Kidding

1. There will be days where everything is due and you have no time to get a head start on things.
2. Learning a new citation format is confusing and sometimes difficult.
3. Writing a paper is hard at 2am.
4. Jokes have a purpose.

I hate April Fool's.

Hate. It.

Just so you all know, I despise that there is a day to play jokes on innocent people. I become nearly paranoid that someone is planning something without my knowing. I despise the fact that people would even want to play a joke on me. What worst though is that as we grow older, the jokes become more than just "There's something crawling up your arm!"; they turn into something that throws your mind for a loop.

A few weeks ago, Megan told me she enjoyed April Fool's. So on Saturday, I was having lunch with her and I told her she best not be planning to pull anything on me. She smiled at me and I knew I had made a mistake - she hadn't been planning anything but now she sure was. I gave up on changing her mind after a few minutes of persistent complaining. We kept on eating and just before we were going to leave, Megan looks at me and tell me, "Nicole, I'm transferring." My stomach dropped and near-panic set in. "You're joking. You are not." Megan nodded and said, "That's why I was talking with my mom on the phone. I don't want to worry about the cost of school anymore - it's too much." A few moments later, though, long enough for the panic and sadness to really set in, she cracked a smile and told me she was completely joking. I promptly smacked her and yelled something along the lines of, "Why would you do such a thing!"

For the rest of the day and into Sunday morning, I was angry at her. Mad that she made me feel suddenly emotional. (It didn't help that she kept me in suspense of another trick Sunday morning, only to tell me she had nothing planned.) But I can't really blame Megan for anything. In fact, now that Sunday is over, I'm slightly glad it happened.

See, I don't take jokes well, especially if they are about me. I believe lies or jokes are rooted in some piece of truth, so if someone pokes fun at me, I automatically think it's true. I also don't take jokes well if they are directed towards my fears. It was crazy to see how quickly I became sad when Megan told me she was transferring. I thought of how all the things we have planned for next would not happen because she wouldn't be there.

To get to my point: don't take things so seriously. Sometimes jokes are useful to show you how much something or someone means to you. It brings up all those emotions and fears of a possible situation and it shows you just how much you want to avoid it or prevent it from happening.

So next year, I might take April Fool's a bit better...or I just might get revenge on Megan.

Peace!

-Nicole