With finals coming up, loads of group projects, and just the regular load of personal obstacles, I find myself sitting at my computer with severe writer’s block. I haven’t been feeling my best lately because someone close to me is having a rough time, and I hate to see anyone close to me extremely unhappy.

So, as I’m sitting here, I looked up “happy stuff to write about” and look at a bunch of different topics that aren’t grabbing me. So, I decided I am going to make a list of 20 different things that make me smile, whether that be something major or something minor.

Before I get into the list, I do want to say a couple things. First, life really is difficult, but finding a silver lining in something is a really great way to deal with obstacles in life. In my opinion, everything happens for some sort of reason, whether that be to teach you a lesson, to change your attitude, etc.

People are strong when they find something to keep them going, so find the thing to keep you going. Please don’t ever feel alone, or feel like giving up, because I promise to each and every one of you reading this article that you are lovely, and you deserve to be successful. So, without further ado, here are 40 things that make me smile, and will hopefully make you smile as well.

1. Animals (any animal because seriously, I love them)

2. Bridget Jones’s Diary (all three movies are awesome, I highly recommend you watch them)

3. My friend Olivia’s laugh

4. The excitement of starting a new show on Netflix

5. The sound of rain on my window

6. Crawling into bed after a really long day

7. Smiling pitbulls!!!

8. Lighting our Christmas tree at home

9. Starting a good book

10. Fuzzy socks

11. My cat (her name is Sassy)

12. New York City at night

13. See any Broadway show (Dear Evan Hansen, though guys…)

14. My roll of Spongebob duck-tape

15. Fuzzy blankets for when it’s unbearably cold

16. Singing my way through my favorite song

17. The ENTIRE Moana soundtrack and movie

18. Disney, in general

19. Colorful pens

20. My bullet journal (even though I’m not the best at bullet journaling)

21. Interviews with the Stranger Things kids

22. Being sucked into the realm of Youtube late at night and finding really strange videos that you can’t help but laugh at

23. Vine compilations

24. Anything Will Ferrel is in

25. Having time to eat breakfast in the morning

26. Listening to music walking through New York City

27. Central Park

28. Dancing

29. Home-cooked meals

30. Being around my friends

31. The sound of waves on the beach

32. The feeling of sand on my toes

33. Going grocery shopping

34. Chipotle

35. Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos on facebook

36. The show Ghost Adventures

37. Accomplishing a goal I had doubts on

38. Random acts of kindness

39. Eating a burger on a cheat day

40. A good workout in the gym