I’ve noticed that there are many unconventional and illogical ways that we communicate certain emotions. Here are some of the more ridiculous ways I’ve seen joy expressed in the past couple weeks:

High Five
Even though this is one of our most basic methods of communicating joy, I still don’t fully understand it. You want me to what? Slap you? But something good just happened. I don’t think – wait, you’re just going to hold it there until I do it, aren’t you? Note to self – never high five the huge guy who is really, really excited about his team. You won’t feel your hand for at least the next quarter.

Shout
When high fives don’t quite do the trick, there’s always the shout. The key here is to yell words that you’d be embarrassed to say at a normal volume. Wooooo and Owwww in a normal conversation over coffee would make everyone involved feel a little awkward, so they would make great candidates.

Fist Pump
When no one is around and vocal expression won’t do the trick, punch the air as hard as you can. Staring at your fist as you reel it back in will only enhance the situation.

Chest Bump
I think we started to run out of ideas sometime back in the late nineties. High-fiving, shouting, and pumping fists weren’t getting the job done, so someone decided that a full-frontal mid-air collision* would become the standard. If you ask me, the chest bump might be the sole reason our society is more subdued than it used to be. Expressing joy just got to be too much work.

Kobe Face
I have no words to express how I feel about this. He was happy here. The Lakers were winning.

What are some other ridiculous ways you’ve seen joy expressed?

*You haven’t lived until you’ve pulled the fake chest bump on someone. In an exciting situation, start jogging towards the person and give a quick tap to your chest to indicate a chest bump is coming. Act like you’re about to jump, and when you see the other person commit, duck out of the way so they flail chest-first through the air. While you’re at it, capture it on video.
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