Under a new halo of pseudo-happiness, I had been applying the all too overused "fake it till I make it" mentality to my everyday life for many many days now. Yet, a forced smile rarely gave way to a genuine anything, except for the occasional jaw-ache. I was beginning to wonder if some people were simply born happy and others scowled in the shadows left by the light of their joy when it hit me. What do I do that makes me happy in the first place? How can I expect to be happy when I do nothing that sparks my "happy flame"?
I did have a group of wonderful friends, a glorious living space, yadda yadda yadda, but all I did was work at school, work at work, and work at sleeping. I was working myself to death. And I was a dull boy. All of those terrible cliches rolled into one.
And so, I made a list of things I would like to do before the school year was over, none of which that would guarantee me any academic merit, which was just fine by me.
Upon completing this list, I will now publish it here for you my friends, so that you will hold me accountable to complete it (and hopefully complete some of the better tasks with me).
This list is not in any particular order, but must be completed before the end of the school year in May.
1) Take up yoga
2) Go to sleep early (and I mean early, like 10:00 early) at least once every six days
3) Go on a road trip
4) Take the train somewhere (anywhere) which may apply to number three
5) Get a manicure/pedicure
6) Go skiing
7) Go to a concert (of a band I actually like, not just to go to one)
8) Go on a picnic (complete with basket, blanket, and sparkling grape juice)
9) See the manatees at the Zoo
10) Completely plan my backpacking trip to Europe (so help me God this is going to happen!)
11) Get my middle-ear-part-thing pierced (tragus)
12) Go to a drive-in movie
13) Buy one outlandishly nice piece of clothing (dress, jeans, whatever)
14) Go ice skating downtown (no matter how much it kills the ankles)
15) Make gingerbread men and decorate them
16) Write my grandmother a letter
17) Dedicate one afternoon to photography
18) Make one snowman
19) Read two books just for fun
20) Enter one karaoke contest
If I think of more (and I probably will) I will post them, but I think that list is enough to get started. Thanks for coming along on this little journey to my happy Mecca, and I hope that at the end of this year I will be able to look back and realize that I really did have time for life and adventure.
*Progress has been made: I have purchased a Yoga mat, DVD, and the Guide to Planning a Backpacking Trip on a Budget.
2 comments:
This is a very inspiring list. I think that I would very much like to make one of my own (so long as you wouldn't consider that stealing.)
I feel the same way and I really want to do some of these with you. Autumn you are a beautiful soul and that fact just screams through your writing and it makes me miss you even more...which I didn't think was possible. - Mandy
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