"Jokes are noble. Laughs are exactly as honorable as tears. Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion, to the futility of thinking and striving anymore. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward - and since I can start thinking and striving again that much sooner." - Kurt Vonnegut

I've always loved that quote, and I try to remember it every time there's a situation which I have no control over, like in your example with the test. There was nothing you could do to change the grade, so you had the choice to either cry or laugh about it. You might not have necessarily done either one, but the point is that you could have felt sorry for yourself, but instead you began striving again.

Interestingly enough, I thought of this quote the day after Kurt Vonnegut died. I was understandably depressed because the world had just become much less awesome, but I started laughing when I thought of the quote. As big of a cliche as it might be, the man would not have wanted people crying about him, he would have wanted laughter. The best way to deal with his death (and any death, I believe) is to remember and reflect on his work. Just laugh and move on.

I hope that was at least slightly helpful. If not, then I'm sorry.

I love to laugh. If you look in my iPod, I have over a 100 tracks worth of comedians from Dane Cook to Stephen Lynch. Within a few months, I have seen both Jim Gaffigan and Dane Cook do their performances. I love laughing until it hurts. Not only does laughing feel fantastic for the soul, it does the body good. It's a proven calorie burner. All around, being able to laugh is a fantastic way to reduce stress and to work out your ab muscles!