#421: SPOTLIGHT: Amber Gentry

#421: Amber Gentry

March 18, 2025

A Backbeat of Community

Question for Amber: 

 Have you had an experience in the last 6 months that was extremely funny where you broke down in laughter and thought “I should laugh much more!”  ? Did you figure out how to accomplish that ??

Amber's Response: 

I got to spend time with a friend who is going through a similar life experience as I am - an experience that doesn't typically draw a laugh or a smile. Life is full of these, of course. As a self proclaimed hedonist, I try to derive joy and pleasure from every circumstance. In some instances this is quite challenging... 

But as my friend and I shared our mutual experiences with each other, they became more and more comical. Things that I had cried over were somehow making me giggle, and then lol. What had weighed me down now made me feel like I was floating (you know, like Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins :)).

At one point we brought chatgpt into the mix - asking questions that added to the absurdity of our amusement (this may be the nerdiest thing I have ever done. No, it is the nerdiest thing...) and then we were rolling with laughter. Doubled over, wiping tears from our eyes, drawing out the joke in as many versions as we could think of to get every last bit out of this fit of laughter! 

I think when we share in each other's sufferings we can also share in each other's joys. And that is what I want more of.