I consider myself the type of person who appreciates the beauty in little things. During difficult times, it’s incredible how a smile, a compliment, or a conversation can alter my whole mood. Even simple things like the view from my window, bird songs, the opalescence of light, and remembering what a beautiful world we live in can make me feel more centered and grounded. I feel like the last four years have been a surge of chaos, and I’ve learned more and more ways to have an optimistic outlook through it all. 

We can always focus on the darkness and negativity in the world if we choose to. It feels like because it’s something we can’t avoid, it’s permanent. It’s important to acknowledge, and remember the faults in history and how things rot, so we can fix our mistakes and alter our mindset. We know as humans, we aren’t perfect. People do awful things. But in turn, people can do really beautiful things: a sort of yin-yang. I like reminding myself of what beautiful things people have created: art, music, literature, cinema, architecture, food, ideas, and other people. We’re just endless cycles of creation, and I find it incredible that I was blessed with an intellectual mind that can comprehend ideas and create magnificent things through my own imagination. Everyone has their own unique imagination, and through conversation and forming connections, I can learn from them and in turn create something new. These connections are invaluable to me, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

People throughout history have made a lot of things with a lot of different embedded meanings. Some things have no meaning at all and are a mystery and laugh in itself. We hear music and dance, we make jokes and laugh, we make poetry and cry and it’s beautiful what a range of complex emotions we can feel. We make art that can induce emotion, books that create knowledge, medicine that can heal, and technology that can do all sorts of things. All of these ideas started small and became a world of possibility. I find it wonderful that each individual has the chance to alter the world around them. 

With social media in fruition, little things have proven to make even more impact. I scroll through TikTok pages, Snapchat stories, and Instagram reels to avoid news bulletins and tabloids. Since we all have a phone in our hands, it’s almost impossible to not notice the headlines about shootings, pollution, government, and death. The confusing advancements in technology, the meaningless Hollywood events, and the never-ending flow of new content to absorb, whipps my thoughts into a whirlwind, and I find it hard to pick up the pieces and organize them to make sense of what’s going on. It’s easier to let them lay, and instead focus on what in my world I can change. 

Seeing the flowers in bloom, it makes me excited to experience it myself. I’m excited to release all the stress I’ve had from the school year and work on laying back and enjoying the little things. I want to keep creating the version of myself I want to be and spend the warm summer with the people I love doing the things I love. Cultivating this mindset through the years has been extremely beneficial to my mental health and it’s made me feel at peace with myself. This year has been really crazy, yet healing for me. I’m ready to transition from feeling automatic at times when school gets stressful to summer where I can embrace the possibilities of abundant joy.