So, I had my first stand-up show at The Comedy Store Sunday night. I’ve done open mics and shit but never a real-deal-shebang show. And to my surprise (primarily because I’m a self-deprecating, pessimistic ass), it went swimmingly. People, like, laughed and stuff. At my jokes. A lot. It was wild.
There was a slew of snazzy things about the night’s event. The mere opportunity to perform at The Comedy Store alone blew my little totters away. Doing a show with some of my close comedy pals made it all the more incredible. But the thing that really sealed the deal for me happened after the show. After the laughter, after the applause, after the hullabaloo, if you will. My favorite part of the evening was telling my family about it. Seriously. The clan lives about 2,000 miles away, so they were unable to attend the shindig (although Cyndi offered to fly out—like, what a gem). So, after all was said and done, I sat in the Jack-in-the-Box (my god, is that place an underrated oasis) parking lot eating my post-show feast and giving my family a play-by-play of my first big show. Ask me if I cried. Spoiler alert: I did. Finding what you love is an absolutely unimaginable feeling. I love writing, I love performing, and I love comedy. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Well, I kinda wish I was at Jack-in-the-Box again right now, but whatever. But finding what you love and sharing it with the people you love is surreal.
So often, it takes something really shitty to remind us of how much we love our people. There’s a shooting or a hurricane or someone dies. When we face loss, we love. We love more, we love harder. But after a while, that feeling of loss dissipates. And we still love our people, sure. But where’s that fervor? That feeling of “holy shit, these are the best humans on earth and I get to have them.” I think I realized last night the importance of that feeling. No, it’s not realistic to be that intense every moment of every day. But it shouldn’t take a loss to remind us of how bitchin’ our people are. Maybe it can be when you’re making pancakes together. Maybe it can be when you’re driving to the mall. Maybe it can be when you’re frolicking in a fricken field of daisies, I don’t care. But this world is so full of animosity. Hatred. And pain. So, love. Love hard. Love more.
If you take anything from this post, let it be this. Love your people a little extra today. Love everyone a little extra. Yes, this world has a lot of hate. But it has a lot of love, too. Remember that. Love matters. So do it. Love the shit out of people.
Oh, and I’m serious about Jack-in-the-Box. They have mini churros. MINI CHURROS. What a life to live.
Are You Calling Me Fat? 