“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion . . . . I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” –Kurt Vonnegut

	As human beings we are given an extremely delicate, fragile life expected to last us for a number of decades as we bump and collide into the others around us. We are forced to live with cracks and dents as the world continues to spin and society continues to place individualism into a box. One person can easily become lost in the swarm; can simply be swept to the side and decide to remain in the corner unattended and misplaced. What makes us decide to hold our ground? Why do we fight everyone around us to receive a chance to show the world who we really are? Are our individual selves truly worth fighting for? I am one human being truly affecting only a handful of others around me. Is struggling out of the grasps of society actually imperative?
	The truth is I do not put my fists up to the world. I believe they have been raised my whole life. I am different; I do not swing them at every counter-belief that comes along. They remain up to embrace. I am ready to fight if the time ever approaches but I am also prepared to open my hands and take a hold of anything new and interesting, whatever it may be. I do not know my exact purpose in this world but I find comfort and motivation in the way I can affect other people through humor and laughter. In every situation throughout our lives we are given a large amount of troubles and grief; within this, most individuals are brought down to an inconceivably low level in which some may never resurface. I may have struggled with difficulties in my life, but I have re-emerged every time as a changed person. I do not burden others with my plights. Our American culture has transformed our society into an army of self-relying independents. We walk down the streets and focus only on ourselves and how we get from place to place. We refuse to rely on others because we only find trust within ourselves. How can society possibly function this way?
	There are exceptions. People are not constantly cold-hearted and introverted. We make time for others in polite, socially acceptable ways; but do we find any pleasure in cooperating? Tolerance is spoken of; but do we really tolerate? Without others in our lives we would not progress and grow as human beings; but we cannot thrive in negativity. We must remain open to one another and be willing to laugh at ourselves and encourage others that life is worth the hurdles and the speed bumps. I understand that if we come together and work to balance our happiness within the qualms and wisdom of other we can learn exponentially more than what we gain throughout own life experiences. Collaboration is the key to our intellectual growth; and my arms remain outstretched to any opportunity.