Forty one million, two hundred fifty nine thousand, six hundred minutes and I believe every one of those minutes is an opportunity to be happy. My gramps was a fishing guide in Florida for thirty years and would take me out on the lake any time we’d go down there. He always told me to hold the fish a little closer to the camera when we’d go fishing and somehow an average ten inch bass would turn into a fifteen inch monster catch. He knew how to make the server at the diner smile, he knew how to make his family laugh hysterically, he knew that when we didn’t answer our phones, that a voicemail of him singing would make our day. My grandpa lived in a small house, worked as a guide and wrote for the newspaper every week, and everyone knew his name- Jacque Mitchell. The reason for this, was because he never stopped smiling. He never stopped being goofy. He never stopped calling his kids and grandchildren even though we were over a thousand miles away. He loved deeply, took joy in the hardships, and smiled through the hard days.

When my grandpa passed away I became bitter and numb to almost everyone and everything around me. On one day in particular my mom told me to remember how my grandpa was and what he would be doing right now. So I smiled. I called my widowed grandma who had to be hurting more than me. I laughed with my dad, who smiles and jokes like grandpa Mitchell.

I will never forget being in the O'hare airport the day after he passed, waiting for our flight to Florida, my whole family sitting in the Chili's restaurant with our tear stained faces and grungy clothes on, everyone trying to be strong for each other and failing every so often. My dad laughed, he made jokes about the food we ordered, and somehow, he made us laugh. I will never forget what I learned at that moment, it’s okay to be happy. It’s okay to smile, even if you’re upset. Smiling is hard sometimes, because life is hard, death is hard, personal struggles are hard. These things may make it seem impossible to be happy. Here is my challenge for you, hold the bass closer to the camera, and laugh when you tell people it was bigger than it really was. Call your grandparents, just to talk. Tip the waiter a little more than usual. Love your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife unconditionally. Do what you have a passion for, regardless of the pay. Be happy.

So, I believe in happiness. I believe laughter is truly the best medicine. I believe in making others smile, and smiling for no reason at all. I believe in being unselfish in your attitude and not dwelling in sadness. I would be lying to myself, and you, if I said there are days when I find it hard to be happy, much less make other people happy. But the reality is this; life averages around seventy eight and a half years in the United States. Forty one million, two hundred fifty nine thousand, six hundred minutes. And I believe each of those minutes were given to us, to smile.