Everyday Chaos And How To Cope

I'm back from a five-month hiatus from writing weekly articles that, for the most part, focused on the primaries, the election, and the general craziness that is Donald Trump (and, truth be told, a good chunk of his supporters). Conveniently, my hiatus began just before the election actually took place. That wasn't necessarily intentional, but it turned out to be a break I really needed.

And we all need a break, don't we? Following the election, it seemed a dark fog permeated the air. We couldn't actually see it, touch it, or smell it, but it was easy to feel. People everywhere around us started to exude an air of hopelessness. Without even saying anything, it was easy to tell that people had a perpetual feeling of not knowing what to do next.

And things have just gotten worse in the time that has passed since inauguration day. It's as if we're bombarded so frequently by executive orders, cabinet choices, twitter meltdowns, and various other day-to-day (minute-to-minute, even) actions that make it not only hard to keep up, but hard to find just one thing to focus on. And this isn't even including the rise in hate crimes and general ugliness that is taking place around the country that may or may not (but totally does) have something to do with the new administration.

When I decided I'd start writing for Odyssey again, I sat at my computer and started brainstorming ideas for what to write about. And when I looked at my list, it was impossible to find a starting point. There is simply too much going on to choose just one thing, and even if I did set my mind to write about one general theme, by the time my article is edited and published, there would be a whole new circus sideshow going on that would draw attention away from it. And ultimately, this got me to thinking: Rather than trying to wrap my own brain around what's going on, and rather than writing about something a million other people with far more credentials than me have already analyzed, broken down, and informed the world on, why don't I go a different direction?

So I'm going to focus on something positive. Many positive things, actually. Below you will find a list of (completely random with no apparent theme) things that, despite the chaos of the country and, indeed, the world right now, can make you feel better. We can all do well with knowing that there are things outside of politics that happen every day, that simply are true and, regardless of how we all feel, and they can make us smile--even if just for a brief moment .

1. Despite being shot in the head for speaking out for women and girls, Malala Yousafzai recovered from the assassination attempt, was nominated for a nobel peace prize, and still works tirelessly to advocate for women's rights.

2. A group of pandas is called an "embarrassment."

3. A group of unicorns is called a "blessing."

4. On that note: Scotland's national animal is the unicorn.

5. A group of bunnies is called a "fluffle," because of course it is.

6. This:

7. Otters hold hands when they sleep so as to not float away from each other.

8. There is a man in Salem, Oregon who hides $100 bills in diapers and toilet paper rolls for people to find.

9. This happened:

10. There is an animal shelter in Pennsylvania that helps kids learn to read by having them practice their reading on the cats.

11. This website exists.

12. This dog exists. Her name is Pollywaffle, and she has her own Instagram account .

13. The original website for the movie Space Jam still exists exactly as it was created in 1996.

14. Random acts of kindness happen every day, and you can do your very own .

15. This grandfather scolded his daughter for her treatment of her gay son.

16. This guy is the pope:

17. Blind people will smile even when they've never seen anyone else smile .