Celebrating 200 Years
HUMOR

What it’s like being the humor editor’s roommate

My roommate is THE Carley Rapp. I am sure you’ve seen her name in the paper with the title “Humor Editor” following. Yes, occasionally people stop us in public and ask her about the Oxford comma, it’s no big deal. She had to mute her phone because fans keep emailing her. 

How did this happen?

You may be asking yourself: How does one acquire such a high role? Well, she wrote a few articles her first year fall semester. One day in the spring semester, the old humor editor, Connor, texted her and said, “You gotta go to the print production, congrats editor.”

I knew she was destined to be

From the moment Carley first fell down the stairs in front of me, I knew she was meant to make people laugh. She is always making people laugh, and that’s why our whole friend group has a six-pack (of abs). I had to read a couple of dad joke books to be able to write a half-as-funny article.

I’m just the background

As Carley makes our friends chuckle, I am usually quietly reading Wiki-how articles about how to be funny. I stay up at night brainstorming punchlines. Even if I was at peace with my humor, I couldn’t sleep because Carley keeps me awake with the sound of her giggling at the articles she’s editing.

How did I pull this off?

Carley sent me an outline of an article and I am just editing it on Google Docs. I don’t know how authentic this article will be, because she will have to fix it. She says I am a natural and the support is really pushing the production of this. I am starting to think I am destined to be a humor writer. After all, being Carley’s roommate gives me a natural advantage. 

Why write for humor?

I hear complaints that nobody writes for humor. But of the couple of people who do, they all write for a different reason. For me, I wanted to see what it was all about. I found myself wondering: Why does Carley always write stories instead of studying before an exam? Well, I have an exam in exactly 22 minutes and I could get used to this. I can’t come up with something else to say, and now there are 19 minutes before exam time. Productive. 

What does the future hold?

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

I am excited to see what the future holds. I’ll get to see my name in the newspaper for the first time. Then, I will probably see my name on the news. I can picture it now: “Student Brooklyn Jennings awarded for writing the funniest article ever.” 

Long term, my goal is to stay in touch with Carley. It might be hard considering she will either be a physician assistant or world-famous stand up comedian. I just want my kids to be funny, and lord knows they aren’t getting it from me.

Anyone can reach out, no critiques, no paparazzi. 

jenninbd@miamioh.edu

Read More

Trending