Hello beautiful friends!

I am here to tell you about happiness and joy and how to obtain it.

Many people ask me on a daily basis, how I am so happy and positive all the time. I normally just reply back that I pray a lot because that is the main reason. What most people do not know is the underlying reason why I am so happy.

I am the happy and positive person I am today because of events that happened to me in middle school. Allow me to explain.

Growing up I was an extremely happy kid who got bullied. Despite being bullied, I still put a smile on my face every day. I chose to smile every day, despite the sadness. I never knew how much words could hurt someone, until middle school. Back in middle school, I was bullied because I was chubby.

I did not know back then how much the bullying would impact my life today. I was bullied and called fat or other names, which made me very sad and depressed. I would cry myself to sleep at night and wonder what I did to deserve this harsh reality. I would lay up at night asking God why this had to happen to me and what I could do to make it stop. At one point I questioned if anyone would miss me if I was gone.

After years of praying for the insults and sadness to stop, the Lord finally gave me the strength to overcome it.

The eighth-grade year came, and I made a vow to myself (Alexis Sue Barry), that I never wanted anyone to feel like I did. I never wanted anyone to cry themselves to sleep at night or not feel loved, so I vowed to myself to be the shining light for others and make sure people knew that they always had a friend in me. I thought that if people looked at me and saw happiness, a light, and the love of Christ then they knew they could always come to me and knew they would have a friend.

Even to this day, I choose to be happy through every situation, because I want to continue to spread the love of Christ to people who need it and ensure that people know they always have a friend in me.

And not to mention, that looking at the bright side of every situation makes you happier and it makes life more bright. You also never know what people are going through, so it is important to smile and be kind to other people, because you could be the reason they have a great day.

Overall, people want to be loved and noticed. So I challenge you (yeah you reading this article) to notice and make one person feel loved every day of your life.

I know what you’re thinking. “But Lexi…...how?”

I am glad you asked how! You can make people feel loved by smiling at them, complimenting them, paying for the person behind you at Sonic/Starbucks/Tollbooth, talking to them and genuinely listen to them, hugging people, saying hello in the food line, and so many different ways! The important thing to remember is that as Bob Goff says, “Love Does”. Goff talks about how love is a verb, so let’s start using it as one!

I hope you enjoyed this brief article on how to choose to be happy, even through hard times! Please let me know how I can pray for you!

Love Your Friend,

Lexi Barry:)