In life, everyone endures their own journey with highs and lows along the way. Everyone has those ups where everything is going great, and then they also have those downs where it seems like everything is falling apart right in front of their very eyes. Now in my personal opinion, I believe that life is about choices. Yes, there are a lot of obstacles that you have face, and hoops that you have to jump through, but I really don’t think that focusing on these hurdles should be the main objective of life. I know so many people that are rushing through life wishing that they had more money, had a better job, were graduating from school, were in a relationship, were starting a family, etc. Focusing on what is going wrong in your life isn’t going to make you happy, so why is it that so many of us do it? How I see it is you have two choices. You can either dwell on all the things going wrong in your life or all of the things that you do not have, or you can choose to find the silver lining and just be happy.

I for one know that I’m guilty of hanging onto all of this negative energy in my life, and get stressed and anxious about all of the things that just are not going my way. But in my young age, I’m starting to realize that it’s not worth it. I have been coming to the realization that holding onto all of the bad stuff does not make me or the situation any better. I know that no matter what obstacles get thrown my way, or how poorly people treat me does not define who I am. Yes, it helps shape me by the way that I handle every situation, but what really defines me is my attitude and my mind set.

I know it’s a hard thing to always be happy all of the time, because it’s human nature to get upset when things are going wrong. But it makes it easier to not dwell on those moments in our lives. I have been through a plethora of trials and tribulations, and each time I have let those moments knock me down, make me upset, and make me stress out and anxious. I thought this behavior was just a part of who I was, and was just a part of my personality. But really it’s a mindset.

I was told once that life is too short to not do what you want, and as I get older and go through life more and more I realize they were completely right. Life is about moments, and we are only given a short period of time to have these moments. So really, time is a precious thing that shouldn’t be wasted on being upset. One of my favorite quotes that I live by comes from a man that was the varsity boys’ basketball coach at my local high school. Coach Tim Sirk once said, “I believe life is about choices and here is what I tell you: choose to be happy, choose to look on the bright side of things, choose to wake up and put a smile on your face, choose to enjoy what you have. Since it’s a choice choose to be happy.” I witnessed this man spend years of his life fighting a terminal battle with cancer, and yet he spent almost every day choosing to be happy. I saw this man, in even some of his worst moments, stay positive and just do what he loved, which was coaching basketball. With his inspiration, I have learned that life becomes easier when you make a conscious effort and decide to appreciate the little things that make you happy, and choose to do what makes you happy. So it is that simple. Since it’s a choice choose to be happy.