Aren’t you exhausted of waking up everyday, dreading your 8 am lecture or ride to work? Doesn’t it get tiring to feel tired all the time? Are you living your life in a countdown, only looking forward to exciting events coming up? Stop all of this. Take a step back, and realize: you should look forward to every day coming up.

Tomorrow, the day after, even the Monday where you have a Bio midterm that you aren’t prepared for. I know you’re tired. I know that life can get exhausting, but it can for all of us. Yes, the same routine gets old, but only if you see it that way. You have control of your every day, and I promise that choosing to go against living a negative lifestyle will change your life for the better in ways you could have never envisioned before.

I used to be there, so trust me, I get it. I would wake up everyday miserable as hell, wanting to stay in bed forever and binge watch "Friends" on Netflix instead of doing my homework. Then one day, it just hit me. I’m living my life constantly looking forward to summer, looking forward to the days where I get to go home, and only anticipating the things that I felt made me happy.

So why don’t I make everyday happy?

What do I really have to lose here? At the end of my life, I’m going to regret not appreciating every cold and rainy winter’s day, because although they were not the most pleasant of days, they were still small and impactful ones that helped to compromise my life story. Now is the best time to start a new chapter.

Literally every action you make, dictates what will happen in your future. There is so much that you can do to construct a more productive future for yourself, even on the dullest of days. If you have nothing to do on a Wednesday, go to a local animal shelter with some friends and play with puppies and cats who don’t have a home. Go to a blood drive and donate blood to those who need it way more than you do. Clean your closet and give away the clothes that still have the tags on them or ones that you haven’t worn in years. Every action you make shapes your future, so why not shape your future into a more positive one? Using your time to help others will not only help them immensely, but will help you even more.

If you’ve been in a slump lately, CHANGE IT! I know that it may be easier said than done, especially if dealing with depression/anxiety, loss of a loved one, or something else along the lines of that matter, but you still do have complete authority over your own future. You can wake up and have the best day of your life, or you can wake up and have the worst day of your life-it is really all up to you. I’m not saying that you should never have a bad day. We’re only human, and we will have bad days; it is inevitable, but choose not to have a bad lifestyle. Being positive or negative is all a mindset, and in order to be one or the other, you have to influence your own mind. Wake up telling yourself that it’s going to be a fabulous day. Even if you think it isn’t going to be, it still can be.

To some, this theory may sound far-fetched, but just practice it. Positivity really does go a long way. If you are a Negative Nancy, others around you will be too. If you have a positive outlook on life, and spread joy wherever you go, it will reflect on your surroundings and the people that you associate with everyday. Go on a walk everyday, write in a journal, volunteer weekly at the animal shelter, bring your co-workers doughnuts on Tuesdays. Set personal goals for yourself and try to achieve them weekly. Routines get old, so try and spice up your life a little bit each and every day. There are a various amount of things you can do to rid of negativity, but start with wanting to change.

Mindsets are a contagious thing. So be the one that starts this positive trend. Do it for yourself, don’t look for any compensation and I promise that life will reward you back.