Every single person on this earth has one. A place where your mind wanders to in the middle of a lecture, where you inevitably end up in dreams, a distraction at work. What is so special about these places is they are personalized to whatever you want. Sometimes they can be made up places but I am going to be talking about the ones that are a physical destination. My goal is to inspire you to constantly make an effort to go there. My favorite place in the world is the beach. I know that sounds general and that’s because it is. If it has waves, sand and the sun, it is my favorite place. I certainly don’t discriminate against beaches. I’m not a monster! And at the risk of sounding like a typical girl, I am first going to be honest with you as to why the beach is my happy place.
If you know me at all you know I crave sandy feet and salty air. You know when you start the first day of class or work, and you are forced to give a bit of information out to the rest of the crowd? And as you look out into this sea of unfamiliar faces you instantly forget everything about yourself. My go-to answer always goes a little something like, “I know I will have achieved success in life when I look out my bedroom window and see the ocean.” I’m hardly dramatic. Can you picture this place for you? Good. Now let me tell you why you should make every effort to go as much as possible.
Let's start off with the obvious: relaxation. We live in an unnecessarily stressful world. Nowadays, everyone is in a rush to get nowhere in particular. I’ve had some serious road rage from being forced to slow down due to a car cutting me off, only to realize I’m going to visit a friend. Those ten seconds won't be missed. I take this as a tell-all sign that other stressful things happening in my life are making me blow up at the smallest inconvenience. Sometimes we need to take a breath. No place can do that like your happy place. Get rejuvenated by going to the place you thoroughly enjoy.
Another reason to visit your happy place is for perspective. Something that will always fascinate me is how expanding the ocean is. From the surf to the fourteenth story, you can never view its ending. Of course, it does have an ending, but looking out at the ocean makes me feel so small. I understand how “feeling small” can have a negative connotation, but it’s meaning to me is accepting the fact my struggles are minuscule and realizing how good I have it. I can’t go back and rewrite my story because everything in my life is leading up to that moment. In that moment, my feet are getting lost between sand and water; that is where I feel the happiest.
Go to your happy place if you feel you’ve lost yourself. In a hectic time of your life, it’s easy to forget to enjoy the positive things. I jokingly tell friends and family to let me be alone during finals week because I turn into a different person. And this is so true! My usual positive, high energy, joyful demeanor is clouded by exam week. I lock myself in my room and study for hours on end. I thank God that finals happen all in one week and literally count down the hours until their done. I even dream about it! You know you’re obsessing over something when it follows you to your dreams. Obviously, this is not a healthy response to stress. However, as I learn to deal with this I will keep in mind that it takes one beach trip in order to retain my usual giggly self.
Go to your happy place as a reward to yourself—come on, you deserve it! Going back to what I mentioned before about finals week, I plan my beach trip months in advance. This way I have something to inspire me to finish out the school year strong as well as knowing I can just pack my sunscreen and go. One of the most exciting things about an adventure is looking forward to it. Sometimes in order to accomplish a goal, you need to know the incentive for doing so. Plan to go to your happy place when you know you’ll need it. That way as soon as you finish up the last test or reach that goal you go.
Happy places are important to us because they remind us of how happy you can be. In the midst of life, we tend to put our happiness on the back-burner. This is just unacceptable. A chemical way of explaining this includes the well-known term endorphins. As the furthest thing from a science major, this is basically the only thing that I can understand about our brains’ scientific response. So, let me explain it the best way I can. When we are happy our bodies release endorphins as a way to get rid of pain and produce feelings of excitement or happiness. Or as one of my favorite blondes, Elle Woods, puts it, “Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands,”
Keeping all this in mind, I recommend stopping whatever you’re doing and plan a visit to your happy place. Yes, now! Even if you are going through a rough time at work or with your family, have that trip in mind to look forward to. You may be surprised how much your mood is improved by this small decision. Treat yourself to being happy, and just go!
