Assignment 19- Sara Anderlich

 The piece of advice that was most profound for me was actually something I found when I was at a very bad spot mentally. It was a quote that read:

 "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."

Though it was a slow process, over the course of a few years, this quote became something that I came back to over and over again, and it completely changed my outlook on life. At first it was small things... I had a mood tracker app on my phone and when I was listing my daily activities, I found things that I enjoyed, even if in that moment I was miserable. I would remember calling my friends, laughing at lunch, playing with my dog, singing in choir, play rehearsal, a good grade on a math test. They were small moments, but it made me happier to realize that there were still some things that I enjoyed. I started doing that every night. I would think about my day and write everything down.. the good and the bad... and the thing was, there was always something good that I could talk about, even if it was about the food I had or a video I had seen on YouTube. 

As time passed, there were friends I made that always seemed so stuck. They talked about how their lives were miserable, and even though I wanted to help, I knew that it wasn't something I could really do much about. I could tell them about the good things in their life, but it was hard to do that without sounding like I didn't understand. Even with help and encouragement, they ultimately had to be the ones to take control of their life. 

It just made me realize that, for me, the most important thing for my happiness was my mindset. If I told myself that I loved something, or that I was going enjoy something, it made my experiences more meaningful... Not because I was faking my happiness, but because I finding something to laugh about.. or people to laugh with. I didn't have to enjoy everything I did, or make every emotion positive, I just had to make my time worthwhile. 

"Eh, I didn't really enjoy this, but at least I got to see some friends". "Today wasn't a very good day, but at least I can go home and shower/sleep now." It was the "but" that changed everything. I started to find more reasons to smile. I started to love what I was doing because I knew I could make the things I didn't particularly like exciting. It was learning how to stop dwelling on what was bringing me down, and how to finally take control of my life. 

So overall, this one quote became nudge that I needed to start becoming a better, and happier, person.