Let’s be the Neville Longbottom’s of our society

It’s probably not news to you, if I tell you, that laughing decreases our stress level and increases our overall happiness. That’s just a no brainer. But did you also know, that laughing not only reduces the risk of infections but also boots our immune system? Astonishing isn’t it?

If you hadn’t figured it out before I think this is proof enough that we all should laugh a bit more, especially in these slightly dystopian times. You might call it gallows humour or a morbid endeavour, I’ll say it’s just another survival strategy.

Let’s face it: Most of us are students (and most likely not the system-relevant ones as they call it) we’re the generation of tomorrow, but right now in this big, all overpowering crisis we can’t really do much. Our contribution consists of staying home, following the recommended guidelines and trying not to behave like complete morons and having the biggest corona party anyone has ever seen.

But it’s not like we don’t have to power to do anything. We can at least become the Neville Longbottom’s, the Charles Boyle’s or the Samwell Tarly’s of our highly challenged society. We can be the best friends of our heroes who are fighting the real enemy, the bad guy, the coronavirus. We can be the desperately needed comedic relief in a dystopian thriller called 2020, that already seems way too grim. We can be the ray of light, that brightens up the day of those doing the real job. We can make them laugh and just in general act as the support our society needs right now.

• My life is a first world problem, writes Studvest journalist Ruairí

We can be the ones calling our grandparents, who are not allowed to leave the nursing home anymore, we can be the ones visiting them at the bottom of their balcony making some cheesy jokes about re-enacting Romeo and Juliet just to see them laugh again. We can be the ones offering to go grocery shopping for our neighbour who is in quarantine, we can be the ones sending love and support to everybody we know who works in healthcare, in public transport, in the supermarkets. To everybody who’s just doing their job right now, keeping our society going.

Let’s all be the Neville Longbottom’s of our society right now. Let’s make our heroes laugh, help them in our own abilities and fill an often overlooked, but oh so important role, in a social construct. We don’t need to be the main character in order to do something meaningful. We can just do whatever lays in our own possibilities and if we do that well enough, our part in the fight against the villain that unites us all, will pay off.

For real though, we might not end up being the one slaying the last horcrux, but I think in times like this, being the ones giving moral support and making people laugh has to be enough. As long as we care for the people around us and make sure everybody is getting through this the best way possible, we all slay the horcrux together making sure our heroes can take on the villain afterwards.

• Quiz: What kind of «rainy» person are you?