"You’ve got to find love in daily things, daily activities, people, moods and places. Find joy in everything you do, even if it is the smallest amount scrapped from the barrel, when you find comfort in your daily life amazing things will happen. Make love an everyday thing and see how your mind will change into one with more clarity and more joy."
--"Things I'm Still Learning" by Amy Kennedy

How much do people love positive tweets, quotes, and Instagram posts? They are great to read when you get up and before you head out the door. Especially when facing certain times of stress and of complication, there's sometimes a need to toss opinions and frustrations to the side to focus on more positive things. Heading toward the end of a semester at school or even running into different stressful situations, it can be hard to take a step back and separate yourself from worrying or negativity. Why is this so hard? It's simply because we are human. Even when we say we might not care, a part of us really does. We are humans, we have emotions and feelings. Different things will make certain people irritated and other things will not phase other people.

Sometimes you really do have to "bring your own sunshine," or simply push the negative aside to focus on the positive. Nothing productive comes from staying negative, and easier said than done trying to focus on the positives and working away from the negative can create a much better mindset and simply a better outlook on life.

But how do you do this? Well for starters, treat yourself! For me, it's my favorite iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts; for one of my friends, it's a Diet Coke or a favorite show. Taking time for yourself is never a bad idea, and, if you feel like you don't have time, try to set aside time for the next day.

Get outside! Especially in spring there's nothing quite better than spending time outside reading a book or being active. It's better for the soul and gives you a break from all the screen time. And lastly, one point I have heard from many people is you are very much influenced by whom you surround yourself with. And not just from experiences myself but from friends as well I have found this to be incredibly true. Surround yourself with positive people, positive minds, and people whom you not only care about, but who have your best interests in mind. These are people who aren't afraid to tell you how it is, who are always their for a cup of coffee or an adventure, and who focus on what's important rather than what's not.

Your mindset and the people you surround yourself with have more influence on you than you know. Accept that there are bad days, tricky times and things that just may not work. But you have those moments to appreciate what's good, and to help have more positive than negative, a positive mindset goes a long way. So get out, get some wonderful people, and enjoy life, because it's too short to be approaching it otherwise!