College is stressful. Most of the time, whether I like to admit it or not, I am overwhelmed. It's so easy to get down in college, you're overwhelmed, you're away from home, you're most likely sleep-deprived, and all you really want to do is cuddle up on your bed and eat Ben & Jerry's Milk and Cookies ice cream.
That's exactly how I was feeling. It was the second semester of my sophomore year and I was TIRED and mostly dramatically convinced that nothing good ever happened to me. I spent my days staring at books, my computer, and at the end of the day I felt like I had done so much, yet, I still had so much to do.
That's when I decided to set out on this mission. I was going to write down one happy thought per day for a whole week. At the end of the week, I would read my notes and see if I felt any different--and I sure did.
I noticed that the thoughts were small at first. Little things like, "the sun was out today" or "I made a B on my math test". Then as the week progressed, I noticed my thoughts got longer and coherently, I seemed to be becoming happier.
I thought that this was so strange. How had these few sentences changed my overall outlook so much?
The thing is, nothing in my life was really changing. I was living the same schedule, I saw the same people, did the same things. It wasn't that my life had magically become happier, it was simply the fact that I was noticing it more. I was taking the time to notice the happiness, and that's what was magical about this experiment. Instead of focusing on all the seemingly "negative" things that had happened that day, I spent my time focusing on just one happy thing, and in turn, I became happier too.
So next time you feel college is getting you down, try out this little experience. I'm almost positive you're going to notice that even the littlest things in life can bring you happiness--you just have to take the time to notice them.
