Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm a pretty consistently joyful person. I'm that one person who's running around in the rain singing or smiles at people randomly while they're walking. You know, the one where people are like, "Dude, does she ever stop smiling? It's adorable, yet super irritating. I don't know if I want to smile back or slap her back to reality."

I'm often asked, by close friends and strangers alike, what makes me such a happy person. I usually respond, "I dunno, I just am." However, as an English major who likes analyzing characters and also thinking of myself as a character in my own Book of Life, I'm curious why I do weird, crazy nonsense as well. Hopefully, this list helps you instill some more happiness in your life like it does in mine. If anything, you'll be able to say you know me just a bit more (I apologize in advance).

1. I'm a natural optimist

An optimist is a "glass half full" type of person who tends to see the light and butterflies in the world. They are usually going to expect good results out of any situation. Call me ignorant, call me narrow-minded and unaware, or call me Ishmael, this is just my personality. I've actually tried to be more of a realist or a pessimist because optimists tend to be disappointed when situations don't end up as positively as they expected, but it didn't work. I'm just honestly going to expect the best of each day.

2. I'm a five-year-old

Not age-wise, but definitely maturity-wise. I'm running in the rain because I like splashing in the puddles. I'm smiling randomly at a person because they don't look like a shifty person who's going to kidnap me or steal my candy. I'm basically a toddler who can legally drink (which is doubly dangerous, but I'm not complaining), and I act like it.

3. I'm surrounded by wonderful people

Though they don't have the same personality as I do, my friends and family are constant sources of joy for me. They'll listen to my issues and then make me laugh until I'm about to pee my pants. While we're not necessarily always "happy" together, we're at least together. That makes all the difference (If you're one of these people, know that I love you and wish you endless love and puppies).

4. I'm my own hype man

As awesome as those people are, sometimes they aren't around when I need some motivation. For example, I'm usually the only person ever awake at 3am doing homework. When this happens and I need a little pick-me-up, I literally pick myself up. I'll tell myself, "Self, stop being sad and start being awesome instead." I'll turn on some pumped-up jams and I'll bring myself into a better mood. As crazy as it may sound, sometimes I'm my best motivator.

5. I don't take life (or myself) too seriously

As motivated and determined I am to reach my personal goals and successes, I'm still able to learn from them and then brush off failure. I fail an assignment? I try to remind myself that this isn't life and death. I sleep through an important appointment with a professor? I remind myself that it's not the end of the world and reschedule. I wipe out throwing my stuff everywhere in front of a cute boy? I pick myself up and laugh hysterically. Failure, while disappointing, isn't as serious as it's hyped up to be, in my opinion. Life ends up being much more enjoyable when I remember that.

6. I take joy in the little moments

If my workplace has my favorite kind of croissant, I have a little party. I wear an outfit with heels, I'm smiling the whole day. I see a cute dog while walking to class, my heart is filled with joy (If I get to pet it, I die a little inside. In a good way). There are little moments every day where I'm reminded that the world doesn't suck and people don't suck. I take these moments and make the feeling I have last until the next moment, and so on.

7. I'm forward-thinking

I don't mean that I'm fashion-forward, or I have an idea for a technology that would revolutionize the world as we know it. I mean that I pick some type of event in the future, and I literally look forward to it. For example, I have a pretty hefty presentation due tomorrow (Tuesday) that I'm kind of stressing about, but instead of thinking of that as the end-all, be-all of my life right now, I'm reminding myself that I'm going to a concert with a bunch of friends on Wednesday. Time is relative to the individual, but the hours are still going to pass, 60 minutes at a time. I will get through the presentation (and any other difficulty) somehow, and I'll always have the concert to go to after. Nothing in life is ever definitively "life or death," in my opinion.

8. I'm not actually always happy

Not to completely contradict myself up to this point, but let's face it: I'm not a sociopath. There's no way I can be happy 24/7/365. Like someone who hasn't slept in a while finally crashing, there comes a point where my body and mind are like, "Ya know what? I'm kinda done being happy right now," and I'll be sad and monotonous for a bit while I recharge. Even though happiness in my default "feeling," I am a normal person with a full spectrum of emotions. I remind myself that it's okay not to be happy all the time, and that I'll be up and smiling before I know it.

9. I'm always singing

So...this might be a more "just me" thing than something that's applicable to everyone, but it's true. Music is an important part of my life and personality. Certain songs make me feel like I want to cry, like I want to go beat someone up, or like I want to organize a flash mob presently. I constantly have these different songs stuck in my head, and I will actively sing them. Out loud. Sometimes loudly. With no shame, whatsoever. I know I'm no Whitney Houston (because who is?), but I still do it because I like it and want to.

10. I don't let others bring me down

Being alive and happy for 21 whole years, I kind of have this "I'm a happy person" thing down pat. While I respect other people's thoughts and opinions on the matter, I'm not going to listen or really care if someone tells me I need to stop doing any of the above. I'm going to continue splashing in puddles, singing some Gene Kelly, while I'm loving my life and smiling the whole way.