When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month...

No one WANTS to be unhappy. I know I shouldn't generalize, but I can't imagine a large portion of the population waking up in the morning saying, "How can I make my day worse than yesterday?" Even The Dark Lord in Harry Potter aimed for satisfaction within evil and terror. He didn't want to make HIS day crappy... just everyone else's.



So how do we become happy? How do we push through a day with a smile?

My answer is simple: surround yourself with the best people you can find. It's not secret that misery loves company, but no one really ever tells you that happiness does too.

When I was a freshman in college at the University of Miami, I was pretty miserable from the first day, and my parents hadn't even left yet. I was often upset just from being so far away from home and a lack of communication with some of my close friends. Because I was the only one to really go a distance to school, I expected my friends to want a vacation. I was 15 minutes from the beach, and I had a roommate that didn't mind people visiting. Only, none of my friends ever made the trip. I very distinctly remember asking one of the girls about it.

"How come no one has ever tried to come here," I asked her.
"Well, you're really unhappy there. Do you think any of us want to see you like that," she asked in return.

Back then, my response was something about how I'd be happier if people made the effort. While I still, in part, think that's true, I now realize that I was so damn crabby all the time that I simply wasn't fun to be around, and it made everyone else sad. I was Debbie Downer.



Throughout my life, I've juggled different groups of friends, moving back and forth, finding myself in the group that I needed at the time. After being in high school and college, I know that your frame of mind can absolutely attract a different kind of person. If you're happy and you aim for the best, you find yourself surrounded by like-minded people. The opposite is true as well. You'll just end up down in the dumps.

Look, we all have our shitty days. Every single person reading this knows I'm right (and modest, ha). Sometimes we want a partner in crime to commiserate with, and the best friends know how to do just that but can also lift you up at the end of the conversation.





"Yes, it sucks. Life is shit... But tomorrow is a new day."

I have written about my friends before, singing their praises and thanking them for what they've brought into my life. This week in particular, I was given the opportunity to spend some time with a handful of them, and I truly realized how much I appreciate the kind of people I have surrounded myself with. In my friends I find different sources of inspiration, support, and encouragement. I can only hope I bring the same to them.



Whether one is a teacher, a volunteer, a student, or a professional... It doesn't matter. They know what to do when I need to laugh, and they know when to let me cry (and then tell me to shut up). They send me messages of kindness and cards of well wishes. Some inspire when they aren't even trying, and some speak the truth with unbridled honesty.

The best part is that they don't have to TRY to be these people. This is my group of friends, and I love them all dearly.

Thank you.



"I'll be there for you 'cause you're there for me too."


Just a note - if you aren't in a photo, it means nada. If you are READING this, you are included in it.