Stand up comedy debut - August 3rd week

Ever since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed being the center of attention. I would do anything to get it. Where attention went, I followed — whether it was playing soccer or making jokes. It didn't take long for me to catch on to how to get the most attention. I’ve always written jokes in secret so I can tell my friends later. I’m not sure if my friends knew this but sometimes the joke wasn’t by accident. This ultimate pursuit eventually led to stand-up comedy.

When I was on stage and made people laugh, it felt like making the entire classroom laugh all over again; it felt like home. I could feel the energy in the room. It was pure joy. When you're laughing, you can't really think about your worries or how cool/great you are. Laughing is an involuntary response, and all you can do is wait for it to end. 

My first time on stage, the light was directly on my face. I couldn’t see most of the audience, just a few people at the front. There were about 60 people watching. I thought to myself, "Well, this is it. I’ll just deliver everything and leave." So I started my joke. Even though I had an entire day to prepare, I hadn't rehearsed much out loud. As I delivered the first few lines, I forgot the rest. I knew the basic storyline, but I froze when it came to the punchlines. I panicked so I rambled on and ended up delivering an unplanned punchline by accident. The audience burst into laughter. I added a few more jokes and left the stage. After the show a comic came up to me and told me that now I have contracted STANDUPITIS on August 15th, so I should keep coming out to shows. I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling and swinging my arms to contain the energy. 

I've wanted to do stand-up comedy for a while. I performed my first “show” at a friend's birthday party on September 17th, yet I was still scared about trying it out. I regret losing a year but am glad I gave it a shot; the experience was surreal. I'm still figuring life out, and having a range of experiences helps piece things together. I encourage everyone to face their fears because most of it is just in your head. I’ve been designing websites for the last 5 years, a role that doesn't demand much social interaction. Remember: no comic has succeeded without bombing, and no human has succeeded without facing failure. I'm working on living a life without fear. Admittedly, I still struggle; I didn’t invite all my close friends to my shows for fear of bombing in front of them. I’m still a work in progress, but I hope everyone realizes that most fears are fleeting. As a wise comic once told me, “DUDE, they aren’t going to kill you if you aren’t funny!”

SPECIAL THANKS for all the support 

Aashish, Amith, Gumrhear, Tano, Mahip, Geo, Freddy, Vinny, Aaron, Devna, Sid Anza Ibra, Martin, Drake, Noah, Jack Harlow 

AND YSEL FOR LETTING ME HAVE THAT MIC

Thank you for reading 🙂, I’m gonna try my best to be more consistent on the blog, I’d like to post at least once a week.