Life is hard. Everyone knows that, but for every person there is a very different reason for life being hard. Some people may have it hard financially, or people may not have the stability they need. Maybe they have lost someone dear to them? Regardless of the way we all have the little things that make us happy. These are the simple little things in everyday life that happens.

My aunt and I met up for an early dinner a couple of weeks ago and she brought me a present. It was a little Christmas tree that lights up and plays music. She said “Well I thought you might need something to decorate your dorm.” It wasn’t until today that I turned it on to listen to it.

It made me so happy just to hear it. It could be because it’s Christmas time or maybe because it reminds me of the snow globes I had when I was little that would play Christmas music. Maybe it’s something else, but this is just one of the many little things.

It could be the wave or a smile from a person on the street or someone who held the door for you or someone thanked you for holding the door. It could be when someone says, “be careful” or the “let me know when you get home”. Or it may be waking up to your cat rubbing its face on yours or your dog barking for you.

For some, it could be a nice drizzle on a hot day or the first snowfall or even the fog that caused a delay so you can sleep in for an extra hour.

There are so many different things that give you that…umm…that little umpf…no that’s not the right word…I’m not sure how to describe it other than that little nostalgia feeling. But anyways, there are so many things that could lead us to these feeling.

We all let ourselves get overwhelmed with things that are hard to handle. I know far too well. I cannot tell you the countless amount of times that I have been overwhelmed in just these few months that I’ve been in college. There has been no doubt that this semester has been very hard on me not only mentally but also physically.

But when this happens you can’t only see these hard things, or the stressors, or the daunting tasks that are ahead. You have to remember there are the little things.

A baby’s laugh, a child’s smile, your dog being excited that you’re FINALLY home. There are so many things to be happy about even in all of the bad in the world. You just have to be able to not only see the bad because if you look past it and ignore it all it will do is grow more daunting. So you have to be able to see the little things too.

Letting yourself get dragged down by the hard and daunting isn’t how life is supposed to be lived. You need to take the good and the bad. But you cannot let the bad overcome the good. Look for the little things, the good things, the little nostalgia feeling, the little bit magic, whatever you want to call it. Take those things and hold onto them tightly.