The Little Things

So basically this last week was a torment for everybody I immediately know, myself included. Even those who weren't in school had a tremendously busy week. For those of us in college it seems as though every project, test, big quiz, meeting, deadline, event horizon, due date, or cut off line happened sometime in this last week of February.

What this week felt like

So it was sometime between a five hour nap at the end of my day and getting on a bus to take me to campus the next morning that I remembered something my grandmother and mother always told me. "You have two jobs. One, to make yourself unhappy. And two, to make yourself happy again."

First Job

Second Job

I have made a pretty good habit out of doing this. Much to the discomfort of my friends. If I'm not smiling, I usually think of something funny that happened (or that could happen) and the result is a stupid grin on my face that comes completely out of nowhere, hence the discomfort...

Sorta my face not Creepy

Sorta my face Creepy

So I'm on the bus trying to think of things that will make me happy, WITHOUT creeping out the people around me. So I look out the window for inspiration. There's birds...

There's children at play

Nothing really seems to get me going though. But then I realize one little thing that we couldn't do without. One thing that most of us take for granted on a daily basis. It happened when some jerk who thought he was better than me (I know he did) drove past the bus in a speeding rage because he forgot how slow buses travel, even though we are practically born knowing this.

Pretty sure the guy in the car looked like this

It was then I realized. I'm so glad we have windshields.

Think about it. Without windshield you're evening drive through you're nice little town would go from this:

We're Family!

to something like this:

FUUUUU-

 you'd get bugs in your teeth, your eyes would be dry, and you wouldn't really have a very fun time driving. You would probably resort to putting on a pair of goggles but would probably end up looking like this guy:

I make these look cool

And that is something nobody wants.

So the next time you have a case of the Mondays, or the Wednesdays, or the "Let's just get this over with" days, try to find one thing, just ONE tiny thing to noteworthy to be happy about. It could be that you got a bunch of green lights one after the other, it could be that your coffee tasted pretty good this morning. It could be that your kids got up pretty well in comparison to other days. Maybe your morning just wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be. Finding one little thing and changing your idea about it can dramatically alter how you think about other things, and can make your day more cheery. It doesn't have to be anything monumental or deep. It could be as simple as being glad you don't have to squint when you drive.

The wonder of mistakes

So Saturday I spaced out and thought I went into work at 11. So I wake up at 10:40 and think that I'm going to be late. I hate being late to work. I call ahead to let them know I'll be there within a reasonable amount of time, just so that when I walk in I don't have to deal with this:

in my case it would be the red chunk

like, well thanks for coming in sleepy head, I can go on my break now that you're here...

 So like a good little employee I rush to get ready, pop a toaster strudel in my mouth and hop the fence to go to work. (I forgot to mention I live right behind the grocery store that I work at.) I bust through the automatic doors like:

And I'm all hyped up and ready to work! Except my supervising manager says that I was never scheduled at 11. That was last week. I'm scheduled at 2.

My face realizing I'm at work three hours early

So first I'm sad because I woke up all early for nothing. So I get home not knowing what to do with myself. Then I realize... I can do ANYTHING!

I could catch up on HOMEWORK!

LITERARY ANALYSIS!!!

I could read a BOOK!

READ ALL THE BOOKS!!!

I could EXERCISE!

I CAN DO ANYTHING!!!

I could listen to MUSIC!

ROLLING STONES AIN'T DEAD!!!

The world was my hay barrel. So instead of just using those three hours to get more sleep, i decided to be productive with them [most of them were spent on this blog ;)] So I hope this small little incident in my day can be a sort of example for things that may come your way. Rather than think about the bad that can come from a simple mistake like forgetting when you went into work, try to make something good come out of it. Even if you're running late to work, try to look around and notice the things you never noticed about your commute before. I bet that even if you have been taking the same way to work for a while, chances are you may have missed something.  Or if you're like me and showed up way too early, take that opportunity to get some work done. Do that house project you haven't had time to do in a while. Make a list of things you wish you could do, and when you find yourself suddenly with more free time then you planned, do those things! You will feel more accomplished, and you will be in better control of your time that way. Try to make even the silliest of mistake worthwhile, because that's where we learn the most out of life.

You wish you had this Kitty!

I can only dream of being this cute

When was the last time you smiled?

I mean really think about it. There's the inside jokes at work. There's the funny happenstance occurrences throughout the day. Even seeing someone trying to go through an automatic door only to realize that it opens the other way.  These sort of things MAKE you smile. When was the last time you smiled only because you wanted to smile? Just for the sake of it. Just to see how it will change your day. Or even just to see how you might change the day of someone else. Smiling is contagious we've all heard it but i challenge you to see just how TRUE it is.


I challenge you to try it. It isn't easy at first, especially if you are not used to it, but this one tiny change to your demeanor will make an enormous difference to your day. Smiling makes you look happy, and people are attracted to happy people. "If he/she is happy, maybe they can make me happy" Not only does smiling make you appear happy, it can actually alter your mood!

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1871687,00.html

Give it a try. For one day. It may end up being the best day of your life. :)

This blog is intended to counteract all the negativity surrounding our daily lives. Today since I'm starting the blog I decided to go ahead and post something tonight [i got excited!]. But usually i will post on Mondays (isn't that day we all need the most convincing to get out of bed?). They may be posts covering the grand strokes of staying positive, or they may just be little things i notice throughout the day that make me laugh and smile and keep going. I hope that these things will make you laugh and smile too.