Another Month of Happinesses

A month ago, I shared a calendar of happy moments that I had written every day for two months. It was a way to put some positive energy into my immediate sphere, let my friends know how much I had cherished the time we spent together, and share a sort of update with those people I hadn’t stayed in touch with as well. “I’m good.”

It’s been another month, and my life is so different than it was at the last check-in. I’m back in school and I’m learning again. I’ve gone from working eighteen hours to eighty hours each week. All of my friends are back from summer adventures. I’ve reclaimed my time and energy after the end of a relationship, and I’ve found security in rekindling old, deep friendships. I’m relearning how to center myself in my mindset.

And I’m overflowing with joy in a way I’ve never experienced before.

I wake up beaming. My days are long, and busy, and I go to bed every night exhausted with a full heart. I dance and jam on my walks to/from class. I belly laugh every day. I hug my friends, I swim, I play, I do good work for organizations I love. I have so much energy, and it comes out as love and laughs and listening ears.

I have a few friends who regularly post and share playlists. These windows into the state of their life, and their mind, and their taste — they’re a perfect check-in. I, however, do not make playlists. Not playlists worth sharing anyways. I have a “suburban barbecue” playlist with all the terrible white-people music we used to listen to at neighborhood cookouts, and my study playlist is just “Night Fever” ten times in a row. But I like checking in. I enjoy the act of letting the world, and my small circle, see a picture of my life right now. So, every month (until I stop) I’ll publish my happinesses for that month. It’s completely selfish and self-important and egotistical that anyone might care about my silly, wonderful life. But as I get happier, I am also finding my voice, and starting to learn it’s a voice worth hearing.

9/12/16: new coffee shops, car access, burgers, seeing friends again

9/13/16: ANOTHER new coffee shop, finally checking in

9/14/16: nug time, a good venting session, daytime naps

9/15/16: perfectly-timed alarms, birthday messages, the end of the week

9/16/16: mutual friends, good eats, getting shit done, clarification

9/17/16: dance solos, new parks, full budgets, replacing my birks

9/18/16: making excuses to catch up, messing around, dance videos

9/19/16: long work days, new bonds, well-deserved In-N-Out

9/20/16: pushing through another long day, staying hydrated, more new kicks

9/21/16: good meetings, POOL TIME, connor, taking the long way home

9/22/16: glenrock palace, easy starts, rooftop wine, a quick turnaround

9/23/16: cutting through the red tape, early bedtimes, full schedules again

9/24/16: MADDIE BAKER-JOHNSON, funky moves, In-N-Out (again), new friendships, questionable decisions

9/25/16: splashing around, CAC fam, productive release, learning new dances, spontaneity

9/26/16: Jason Gorman moves, James Blake, re-writing memories, study buddies, free phone replacement

9/27/16: Noah’s, Rick + the radio, netflix nights, finishing homework early

9/28/16: running around ALL DAY new volunteers, new moves, friends who create, the perfect mix of people (and alcohol), feelin’ pretty

9/29/16: sleeping way too late, dancing with friends, bagels

9/30/16: finishing everything, skipping class, True American, hitching a ride in the late car

10/1/16: car naps, introductions, story-sharing, tequila, new friends, FREEDOM

10/2/16: easy-flowing thoughts, lazy days, New Girl, make-up

10/3/16: leaving an interview feeling great, swipes, battleship, learning, turning in homework

10/4/16: sleeping in, finding my voice, new tunes, coding, coffee

10/5/16: midnight serenades, easy homework, wiggling in legacy room, feminists, The Word

10/6/16: getting acceptances (!), online shopping, quad nights, podcasts, confidence

10/7/16: pushing through a hangover, skipping class, road trips, happy playlists

10/8/16: more acceptances (!!), dinky scottsdale shops, great lip colors, ASU, dueling pianos

10/9/16: aleve, In-N-Out (this is a pattern), singing along to the dad playlist, sunsets, skipping homework

10/10/16: long showers, longer to-do lists, investing in a new laptop, feminist spaces, CAC concerts, new dance-y friends, wine nights

10/11/16: catch-ups with laura, mornings without alarms, cool air, leisure walks, bagels