When I say "happy," I don’t mean the in-your-face, jumping-up-and-down, won’t-shut-up type of happy. I mean the being-content-with-life type. Things could always get better, of course—you could randomly be given $1 million, or you could meet Lin-Manuel Miranda walking down the street, but things are pretty good right now. You’re happy with the friends you have, the classes you’re taking, your life at home. Nothing needs to change.
It would be great if you could feel this way all the time, right? If you could always be happy with what card life has dealt? It would be, but unfortunately, that’s not how life works. Sometimes, bad things happen: you get a bad grade on a test, have a fight with your friend, lose a loved one. In spite of the these events, everyone deserves to be happy—no one thing is going to be the be-all, end-all of your life. But it can be pretty hard to be happy when you’re going through a rough patch.
Here’s my advice: find something to be excited about every day.
It doesn’t have to be a big thing, like going on a trip somewhere (though if you are going on a trip soon, it’s totally fair game). It can be something small, like going to a favorite class, having lunch with your squad, or taking some you time to read a book for fun. Find something to look forward to that will get you through the day.
Here, I'll give you some more of my favorite examples.
Monday: I have three classes on Mondays, but my last one gets out at 1:50 p.m., so I’m always excited to have some time to chill with friends, watch some Netflix, or read a book I want to read (recommendation: "The Lunar Chronicles").
Tuesday: I only have one class on Tuesdays, and it’s my favorite one with my favorite professor, so I look forward to that. (Another book recommendation: "The Canterbury Tales." Seriously, I’m not joking when I say it’s laugh-out-loud funny).
Wednesday: I like Wednesdays because I can stay up late at night. My only Thursday class is at 12:30 p.m. and I can sleep in.
Thursday: I volunteer at the local elementary school and help kids with their homework. Even if my patience is running low with them, the school is about a mile off campus, which makes for a nice walk when the sun is out.
Friday: The weekend! Who doesn’t get excited about the weekend?!
One more tidbit of advice: smile! When I walk around campus, I smile at everybody. If I know the person, I might stop and say something, or at least just wave. If it’s a complete stranger who I’ve never seen before in my life, they get a brief smile to say, “Hi, how are you?” It’s impossible to know what someone else is going through in their life—they could be having a really hard day. And a smile, even from a stranger, can make it a little better. On the other end of that, if a random person smiles at you, smile back. It certainly brightens up my day when I receive one.
I like to think I can do that for other people.
Best of luck!
