Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Before this devolves into a pity party for my forsaken sense, let me make it clear that I am not a naturally dour person, the opposite in fact.

A parade of laughter adorns the majority of my happiest memories. As soon as I was old enough to understand that you can bring joy to people by artfully manipulating the truth, I became a pathological joker. The effects of this obsession were sometimes positive, gaining me lifelong friendships and a catalogue of cherished memories, but the…