Keeping with the traditions of modern day society, when 2013 rolled around I clinked champagne flutes with my closest friends, took a sip and watched the couples in the room kiss. After the festivities I went home, got in bed and began penning my thoughts in a brand new journal. My personal New Year's tradition is to start a new journal, one I'll fill with all my most significant (and more often than not insignificant) thoughts/stories over the year! And just like always, I greeted my new journal by writing: January 1, 2013 - Happy New Year! It's 2013 Baby! I went on to ramble about my lovely evening. Apparently I liked the people I met at my friends party and afterwards I went to Waffle House with my twin sister where we received kisses (on the cheek) from some 18 year old twin boys! It was obviously a night to remember. But after regaling my inanimate best friend with the craziness, I decided to get serious. So I wrote out my thoughts about my life and concluded with this resolution-esque statement.. which is less a resolution and more an inspirational promise to myself.
"Right now I am feeling inspired to have a happy, fresh, and single 2013! I'm going to try living and feeling the moment more often. I'm going to dream big then make my dreams my reality. I'm going to live, love, and laugh a lot more! I'm going to journal a lot like normal to keep my sanity and I'm deciding now that I will be happy. Im am going to enjoy being young and free. I will seek out inspiration and aim to be an inspiration to others. This year my motto will be the quote on the cover of this pretty blue journal.. "She's a dreamer, a doer, a thinker. She sees possibility everywhere." So fingers crossed and a kiss from me to ring in the new year of dreaming, doing, and finding possibility in everything and every place. xoxo. "
If I'm honest, this little profession to myself does not read as well as I thought it did that night. That's probably because it was 5 AM.. and I'd yet to sleep! However, did you catch that little part in there about being happy? I'm deciding now that I will be happy
Yeah, that was the moment I decided to make the conscious decision to be happy every day for this entire year. The moment I let that oft-quoted advice resinate. I can and will be happy because.. why shouldn't I be? Why should I waste my short life being miserable? Exactly, I shouldn't and neither should you! That being said, I have to add that it seemed to be an appropriate choice as it fell in line with my other goals for the year, i.e. I'm going to dream big then make my dreams my reality. I'm going to live, love, and laugh a lot more!
You see, back when 2012 was coming to an end, I was stressed out to a point that I had never been before and I hope to never be again! I was ending my final semester of college. I had huge projects due and couldn't afford to take time off of work so I was sleeping a max of 7 hours/week. Definitely not my shining moment. I was angry at life back then for seemingly having dropped me at the bottom of the heap! ((which was so NOT the case but nobody could convince me otherwise)). The lack of sleep combined with a lack of boundaries and defined life goals had seriously brought me down.
Then like a ton of bricks, it hit me that I just needed to smile! :) Quick fact: I've always been known for my round-the-clock smile! It always disarms people. They are so confused by it at first. They'll say "Ugh, why are you always smiling?" or "What are you so happy for?" to which I've always replied. "I can't help it, I always smile. I love to smile!" Yeah, talk about totally throwing them for a loop. Most of the people could never really grasp that reason. Maybe there's a lack of happy people in the world? Apparently there's a lack of smiling people. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is that before life's inevitable trials marred my face, smiling was a key factor to my joy. I knew in that moment that the only way to start turning things around was to smile. After all, hasn't it been proven that smiling causes happiness?!
And guess what? I was right! I am four months into 2013 and I'm happy again! I admit that I'm still
trying to figure out what exactly I want to do in life (career wise mostly) but that's exactly where I should be. For the moment I am 22 years old, and in the flawless words of Swifty, I am "Happy, Free, Confused, and Lonely at the same time! It's Miserable and Magical! - I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!" I am so lucky that song debuted during my 22nd year of life for obvious reasons! When I first heard it, I just was all like, "Taylor Swift, you're my soul sister! I've never loved you like I do now!" But even when I turn 23 later this year, it will still have a special place in my heart. Bunny trail alert! Anyways, all of that to say, I'm happy now! My dreams are slowly becoming my reality. I've set myself some amazing and totally achievable goals. It's time to conquer the world by disarming people with my smile and my renewed passion for life!
So now you know how easy it is! Before I go, I would like to challenge you all! I challenge you to smile. Right now! Just give it a try and report back to me with how it changed your day. I also challenge you to choose happiness because you are worth it! Life is really hard and it's easy to get bogged down. Let choosing happiness be the positive in your life. Now let's all go out and make the rest of 2013 happy by smiling whilst living out our dreams!
xo. Brooke
Oh, and a little gift to you from tumblr! It doesn't get cuter than One Direction laughing!
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