Wow there is a lot going on in this world. Maybe it is the upcoming presidential election, climate change, the effect of Hurricane Matthew, ongoing violence, the economy, the continuance of discrimination, racism and sexism, “rape culture”, the rise in poverty, scary clowns or even midterms: there is always something to worry about. In this year, 2016, sometimes it’s hard to remember what to be happy for or why you should love life.

Personally, I love those articles that list many different reasons to be happy, so I thought I would create my own: a list that not only mentions the general things to be happy about, but also those specific to students at GW and to college students. So here are 200 things that I remind myself or experience or think about on a daily basis. These are only a few of the things that make me happy, brighten my day and help me smile. Maybe we share some of the same things. What makes you happy?

It’s the little things in life that counts.

General Happy Things:

1. You exist in this world
2. Family
3. Your puppy
4. Your partner
5. Your roommate
6. Your best friends
7. Candles
8. A lazy night in with Netflix and Food
9. Animals. The cute, the cuddly and even the scary.
10. Compliments
11. Meeting new people
12. Listening to people sing
13. Laughing so much you cryHaving fun with friends
14. Airports
15. Having nothing to do
16. Carving Pumpkins
17. Fresh fruit
18. Picking fruit
19. Pumpkin Patches
20. Making Halloween Plans
21. Scary movies
22. Marvels; especially Captain America and the Hulk
23. Movie Marathons
24. Holidays
25. Vacations
26. Traveling to exotic places
27. Traveling in general
28. Road Trips
29. 3 day weekends
30. Nice warm showers
31. Free Food
32. Free things
33. Freedom
34. Legalization of same-sex marriage
35. Foodgasms
36. Food Porn
37. EATING.
38. Having a kickass snapchat story
39. The smell of pancakes in the morning
40. Funny memes
41. Playgrounds
42. Accidently running into someone you love
43. When someone showcases confidence
44. Buying new clothes
45. The smell of a new car
46. Service
47. Helping others
48. Seeing other people smile and laugh.
49. When it is bright and sunny outside
50. Those body confident/happiness posts that people post on Instagram and Facebook
51. Making a notebookof compliments for a special person in your life
52. Planets & the Universe
53. Being extra on a friend’s birthday
54. Scavenger hunts
55. Rewatching your favorite childhood TV show
56. Babies. Cute babies.
57. Building a giant fort
58. Baking sweets
59. Hot coffee or tea in the morning
60. When restratunts have a vegan menu
61. Hitting a piñata
62. Rollercoasters
63. Popping bubble wrap
64. The view from rooftops
65. When your favorite song comes on the radio
66. When a really old song comes on the radio and you have a JAM session
67. Driving around and blasting music on the highway
68. BIG HUGS
69. When someone tells you they love you
70. Scaring someone
71. Pranks
72. Christmas sweaters
73. Simplicity
74. Unexpectedly getting upgraded to first class on the plane
75. A clean room
76. The smell of Clorox
77. Getting a hand-written note in the mail
78. Nature// Trees, Earth, Lakes
79. Facetiming your friend who lives miles away
80. Going to the beach with friends
81. Getting likes on a groupme message
82. Adrenaline rush after a nice workout/run
83. Happiness after meeting with friends
84. Watching a good Broadway show
85. Knowing all the lyrics to Hamilton songs
86. Being in a play and bonding with your castPerforming in front of people
87. Complaining about having to do school and theater practice even though you enjoy it
88. Throwing surprise parties
89. Nerdy Puns
90. Having a friend you can snapchat a million times in a row and knowing they will still like you the next day
91. Crying because you saw something nice
92. Losing your filter and saying the first thing that pops in your mind
93. Science
94. Sharing clothes with friends
95. Thrift stores
96. Finding money in your clothes
97. Favorite pair of pants (we all have one)
98. Feeling like you look good
99. Not having to wait in line
100. Making lists
101. Crossing things off the list
102. Being artistic
103. Jumping in a pile of leaves
104. Fall food/ fall events/ fall in general
105. Birthdays
106. Fireworks
107. Reading
108. Knitting
109. A comfortable silence
110. Showing how grateful you are for something
111. Thanksgiving & Black Friday
112. The Winter Holiday/New Year season
113. SNOWWWFALLLL
114. Taking pictures
115. The smell of popcorn
116. Fitting into jeans from a few years ago
117. Sustainability
118. Coming up with genius comebacks

GW Happy Things:

1. The National Mall
2. Watching the sunrise (at the monuments)
3. All of the Free Museums
4. The distance from GW to the White House
5. Captain Cookie
6. Crepeaway Dance Parties
7. Midnight walks to the monuments
8. Taking a picture with your home state at the World War II Memorial
9. President’s Car
10. Runs through downtown
11. Smoothies at the HellWell gym
12. Our neighbor: Obama
13. Activism
14. Cherry Blossoms
15. Student Run organizationsGW Theater
16. When there is no line at Gelbucks
17. Not having to wait for the vex
18. CVS is open 24 hours
19. The smell of captain cookie at anytime of the day
20. The pronunciation of "Appalachian"
21. Gelman is open 24 hours
22. Elliot school rooftop
23. Freshmen 15 isn’t a thing because you walk everywhere
24. People- watching
25. Whole foods
26. FOOD TRUCKS
27. George Washington: Our Hero
28. Getting a library card for the Library of Congress
29. The Beautiful Vern
30. Taking the Metro
31. #1 Politically Active Campus
32. Nightlife

Happy College Things:Being close to your floor mates

1. Getting an A
2. Every night is basically a big sleepover
3. Meeting new people
4. Saturday Nights
5. Intoxicated nights where you can talk to everyone
6. When Class is canceled
7. When the professor doesn’t show up to class
8. When a due date gets postponed
9. Understanding what your math teacher is talking about
10. Nights where you can sleep without an alarm
11. Dorm shopping
12. Finding people who are basically your parents
13. Baking for others
14. Ramen
15. Realizing a B in a college class is actually good
16. Having your four years already planned out within the 2^nd week
17. Realizing eating time is never over
18. Syllabus week
19. Only having to take the same class for one semester
20. NOT BEING IN IBDP (or AP) anymore
21. Independence
22. Lazy Saturday/Sundays
23. When hanging out is doing laundry together

Home Happy Things:Mom’s home cooked food

1. Looking at old pictures
2. Smell of your house
3. Big hugs
4. Cuddling with your dog (or cat)
5. Reading a good book in bed
6. Being home alone
7. Reuniting with family
8. Reuniting with your high school friends
9. Visiting Home
10. Family vacations
11. Visiting your old school
12. A comforting hug from your mom
13. Sleeping in your own bed
14. Sitting in bed to watch Netflix while eating food
15. Spending time alone
16. Drinking tap water at home
17. Reuniting with your puppy
18. Playing with your younger sibling
19. Listening to your sister sing
20. Driving your car
21. Going back to favorite restaurants