Happy Days

I follow a great blog called The Girls with Glasses.  It was created by two awesome girls who are cute, quirky, and both wear glasses like me!

Their latest blog post is a video they made titled "How To Be Happy".  Obviously the name gives away the main idea, but it essentially talks about finding your 'happy tools' for when you're having a bad day.

Sometimes life just has you down and its important to know what things can pick you pack up again.
I decided to sit down and make my own list of happy tools.  Here are the ones I was able to come up with:

Nature

This has got to be the biggest one for me.  Getting away from everything and retreating into the wilderness really brings you back to who you are and reminds you of what a beautiful world we've been given

Wear a Flowy Dress

When in doubt, slipping on a nice twirly dress and doing a few spins can really brighten up any boring old day!

Reread an Old Book

One of my favorite things to do is go back to an old book, preferably one I read in my teenage years. Reintroducing yourself to the old characters hidden between the dusty pages and coming back to a comfortable story you have heard before is a lovely thing.

Listen to Music 

I especially love Sara Bareilles when I'm in a funk. Her music is very fun and empowering. Pumping up the volume when her songs come on (preferably when wearing a flowy dress) can cure any bad day!

Bake a Cake (Then Eat It) 

Creating something yummy out of nothing more than a few ingredients you have in your pantry is slightly awesome.  Especially when you get to lick the spoon and eat the finished product a short time later!


What are some of your happy tools? I'd love to hear!

Embrace the Change

I have two weeks left of school.  Well only one, if you want to be technical, because after this week comes the dreaded finals.  Where has the year gone??

As my sophomore year of college comes to an end, I have found myself thinking a lot. I've been experienced two mind sets; the "oh my gosh its almost summer I'm so excited and next year is going to be great!" mindset versus the "holy crap I only get two more weeks with these people and next year is going to be WAY different" mindset. It's been tough because most of the time I think about the fun stuff, but then I stop myself and my mind wanders to things like change, and life, and how everything will soon be very different.

I'm not a big fan of change. I can handle it most of the time, I can tolerate it, but that doesn't mean I like it. Being a creature of habit, I thoroughly enjoy my routines and rituals and when these get thrown off by any degree of change I get slightly uncomfortable. Thinking about all of the things that will be different next year makes me excited, but it is after all change, so I am also wary.

But thats life, isn't it? Life is encountering change to further who you are.  If you avoided change your whole life you would be nowhere. You would be at home, with no schooling, no job, no social life, nada. Change may be hard, but it gets you places. It takes you on a journey to a more exciting and vivacious life.  If I avoided change I would not be anywhere close to where I am today.

So while I do fight with these two mindsets, I have come to terms with the fact that I am feeling both ways. My adventurous side is saying "Melissa, this is a new chapter of your life and its going to be awesome!" and my cautious, comfort-seeking side is saying "AHH CHANGE!!".  Thats okay, though, because those are both a part of who I am.

So, for now I am planning on finishing off the school year strong.  I am planning on soaking up as much of this chapter of my life I can, including seeing friends that I may not see as much next year and jumping in the pool every day at our apartment complex. Soon these things will change, but thats just a part of life. Luckily, I can know and trust that God is guiding me on my life journey, and that next year will be infinitely more fun, crazy, and spirit-filled than anything I could've hoped for.

I will embrace the change, and with a smile on my face no less! :)


“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.” 
-C. Joybell C.