How I've Found Joy in Some of the Hardest Days | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

How I've Found Joy in Some of the Hardest Days

I didn't want to write about the awful things that have been happening this week. So instead, I wrote about the happy things.

8
How I've Found Joy in Some of the Hardest Days

This week has been tough. My fellow LGBTQ+ peers and I have been spending it fighting for our rights against the establishment and against the other students at this school. And then, the election happened and, well, that did not end well. But I don't want to talk about that. I can't keep surrounding myself with this negativity all the time. It will make me burnt out and hating life. So instead, I will be talking about something that I started doing last week.

One of my closest friends and I have a motto for 2017. "Everything is going to be alright." He came up with it during a time when both of us were feeling very down and disheartened and not knowing where to go or what to do. He decided to adopt the motto early and start finding happiness and love in the little things around him every day. And that's when I realized that I needed to do a similar thing. Sometimes, it's so hard for me to find love and happiness, that I need to remind myself that it exists at all. Things like little compliments or kind comments are lost on me, and I find myself unable to take them to heart and appreciate them.

So, I did. I created a new blog and decided to start a project with it. Every day, I have been making posts including something that happened during the day that made me feel happy and something that happened that made me feel loved. These could be as mundane and simple as "My friend brought me sushi to eat for dinner today." Or as significant as "My mom sent me an email asking me if I was okay and to call her if I needed anything." Sometimes, the only happiness I can find is "I got to sleep in for an extra hour today." But others, I can come up with a list of things that people did to make me feel so loved.

I want to be able to look at this again months from now and remember all of the beautiful things that my friends and family have done for me. I hope that someday, I won't need to write a post every day so that I can love myself. But for now, that's what gets me through my days, and I'm okay with it.

So, readers, I want to challenge you to do this as well. You don't have to open up a blog and post the things that happened to you in great detail. I just hope that you can start thinking deeper about and appreciating the little things in life. No matter how awful a day may be, I want you to be able to find something that makes you feel happy and makes you feel loved. It's already started to make a huge difference in my life. I hope it will make one in yours as well.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

5 Things To Do That Are Better Than Writing A Paper

Don't waste your time trying to write that paper when there are so many more interesting things you could be doing.

8385
computer keyboard
Unsplash

Writing a paper is never fun and is rarely rewarding. The writer's block, the page requirement, be specific, but don’t summarize, make sure you fixed any grammatical errors, did you even use spellcheck? and analyze, analyze, analyze.

Papers can be a major pain. They take up so much time and effort that by the end of the process you hate yourself and you hate the professor for making life so difficult. Questions of your existence start roaming in your mind. Am I even cut out for college if I can’t write a single paper? Am I even capable of taking care of myself if I lack the energy to open my laptop and start typing?

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons Why Sisters Are The Best

Who could be a better friend than your own sister?

5069
sisters
Taylor Hooper

I can barely remember back when I was the only child. Most would say it’s because it is extremely difficult to remember things as a toddler but I would say it's because I was bored until my sister came along. My mother always says how important the "sister bond" is and with every year that passes I realize how right she is. Instead of writing a novel about all of the wonderful things there are about having a sister I decided to list a few of them instead.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Adult

You're gonna make it after all.

5606
how to adult
Twitter

It is the time of our lives that we are beginning to enter the adult world and most of us, if not all of us, have no idea what we are doing. It's like starting a video game, but skipping the tutorial. We're all just running around aimlessly hoping we accidentally do something right that moves us along the right path. Now that graduation has just happened, or is right around the corner for some of us, it's time to start thinking about how we are going to take care of ourselves once we are on our own.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

7 Signs You're A Starbucks Addict

I'll be the first one to admit I'm addicted to Starbucks.

3473
drinking coffee
Tumblr

If you’re anything like me, you love a good cup of coffee. My coffee always comes from Starbucks; I refuse to drink it from anywhere else. Over the years, it’s become one of my biggest addictions. So, if you are aware that you’re a Starbucks addict as well, or maybe you need to check to see if you’re an addict, here are seven ways to tell.

Keep Reading...Show less
people  in library
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

College involves a whirlwind of emotions, whether it’s from the stress of an assignment (or twenty), or from fighting with your roommate. It can be overwhelming at times and it’s important to take a step a back and calmly think things over. Maybe gain some perspective. The following aren’t foolproof tips and may not apply to you, but I was able to find success with them (hope you do too!)

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments