I find it hard to fall asleep, my mind stays awake searching for something, anything to put myself down. So I comfort myself the only way I know how to, I look for the things in life I find beautiful and that I am eternally grateful for.
I love the feeling of finishing a book and not having to put my bookmark back in.
I love the feeling of my cold glasses being pressed against my warm face.
I love when you stop at a red light, and you are the only car there and the world seems to be so still and at peace.
I love warm summer mornings when there seems to not be a single care in the world.
I love finding a new favorite song on my Discover Weekly.
I love waking up at 4 in the morning to my cat laying on my chest.
I love 3 AM FaceTime calls with my friends where we laugh at the silliest things.
I love silly dad jokes.
I love listening to Jazz while painting.
I love the rain.
I love México, being with my family friends and always having something fun to do.
And I love being in the library, whether it be to study, or looking for a new book to read.
It’s easy to overlook these things you are grateful for when you tend to search for things that only bring you down. Such simple overlooked feelings have the ability to turn a whole day around or distract yourself, even if it’s only for a moment. But when no matter what I do, no matter what thoughts I try to erase from my head, there are always those feelings that tend to stay in the back of my mind, bringing me back to reality.
I hate when I find my contacts have been ripped or dried up.
I hate when a painting doesn’t come out the way I want it to.
I hate being left out.
I hate not being able to express my feelings.
I hate having to hide everything.
I hate being so overwhelmed, I can’t do anything but scream.
I turn to the feelings I love when I can’t get out of my head no matter what I do. But the small things, the things that no one would even think would mean anything, mean the world to me. Something as simple as creating a list, and finding something to connect with makes all the difference in the world, no matter if it’s something you love, hate, wish to do or even wish to go. I know I can share these experiences with those I love most in the world and that makes me feel a little better inside, and I sleep a little more soundly.
20 comments:
What an amazing story! I definitely agree with you. It’s so hard to look on the bright side of life when things seem to be going downhill. But I loved how you detailed the importance of remembering the good things in life. While reading your list, I began to smile, because I also love warm summer mornings, stopping at a red light alone, finishing a book, etc. These are amazing things that sometimes we dismiss, but I loved reading what brings you joy. I agree that making a list is a great way to combat negativity, and I enjoyed seeing that the list of happy things was significantly longer than the negative ones. Great Job!
Anel this was an amazing piece! I have been struggling a lot lately. I have been extremely busy and stressed, constantly feeling behind or not good enough. I have been filling my head with the second list, all the things I hate, all the things that bring me down, usually about myself. Thank you so much for writing this. I found myself smiling at so many of the things on your first list, the one of things you love. It reminded me today to think of those things instead, to appreciate all the little things in life that make me smile instead of frown. Thank you for providing that reminder, and thank you for being vulnerable enough to share with and help others going through the same thing! - Nicole Lillie
This piece is really good. i genuinely enjoyed reading this piece. I love your diction in describing the good things as light and airy and starting off the bad things list with a "ripped" contact. I love your message too. Good things don't make the bad ones go away; they just make it bearable. Overall wonderful piece, in message and mechanics. Oh and never underestimate the joy of making a list or chart!
Awesome job Anel! I completely agree with you that we tend to search for the bad in things and never the good. It's so simple to overlook everything good that we have, that is in the world. You wrote this piece beautifully and it's so relatable.
Beautiful! I couldn't help but smile as you listed the things you love and related to some of them on the list! I often find myself in the same predicament: pointing out all the bad and finding it difficult to bounce back from that. However, like the moments you listed, those are those moments you stop, take a deep breath, and take it all in. I thoroughly enjoyed your piece! The little things are so important! :)
William James Smith III: Great Job with your point of view! Even during these hard times, we still have a lot to look forward to! We are only teenagers, and we have the rest of our lives ahead of us. Although I didn't make Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont Mc Kenna, Cal Tech and USC, I still made it into UCLA, UCI, Cal Poly Pomona, and UC Riverside.
I still have great options at UCLA, and I know the rest of us seniors who have been working hard for most of our lives will still have things to look forward to in the future!!! :)
Keep looking at the good in life! :)
William :)
This piece was excellent. The structure of your writing was formatted uniquely and eloquently and you expressed your thoughts well also. You expressed hardships with amazing expressivity and it was good.
Wow I really love this! Your examples of the good things in life are so detailed and are things that bring one happiness even if they're considered random. You wrote the truth about how it's easy to overlook the good things in life since so many focus on the bad.
Anel!! This piece is beautifully written!!!!! Thank you for making the point of even though we have many things that bring us down, there are an outnumbered amount of things that bring us joy. Definitely harder said than done to focus on the good as you stated, but thank you so much for remaining hopeful and positive especially during these tough times. -Kaitlin Dalisay
Purrrr bae. I love your list. It was very you. Sometimes time passes by very fast that we miss out on enjoying the little things that make life so beautiful.
Hi Anel! I really enjoyed reading the list of things that make you happy. Your story reminds us that we should learn to appreciate the things that bring us joy instead of worrying about what brings us down. We’re living on a floating rock, it is important that we should take care of ourselves and enjoy even the littlest things in life :) -Charmaine Luciano
I like how you were able to create a list of the things that you rejoice with and how you bring to attention how the smallest of things can either completely uplift or bring down our mood. Truly its the small things that make happy that you can depend on in life.
Hi Anel:D This was very well written. I like the two perspectives of life that you inserted here. An interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed the change in moods towards the middle.Fire
This is such a beautiful piece. As I was reading all I can find myself saying is "oh my gosh me too!!". There are so many things in this life that we take for granted and as I am reading your work of art I see that the small things bring the most light or dark in life. Thank you so much for sharing!!
I love when people talk about the little things in life that they love, things that you otherwise wouldn't really think about. Sometimes it seems like all we can do is just look for the joy in little things when we're struggling with big things, and I think you described that perfectly. Great job
Anel! I love this so much :) All of your descriptions were perfect and reading your list of things that make you happy brought a smile to my face. It's so true that it's the little, simple moments that bring peace, especially when overwhelmed by negativity, burden, or anxieties. Sometimes I do list things in my head when I desperately need to be brought back to reality, but after reading this, I think I may start to make a physical list so I can go back a read it later. Amazing job shmee!
This piece is extremely accurate and relatable! It really is the little things in life that matter most, and I think everyone would be a lot happier if they could learn to appreciate them. This was a great reminder that the simplest things are just as important as the elaborate ones. Well done!
This piece was such a joy to read. Life can definitely be hard, but all those little things that you mentioned are what make life that much better.
Anel, this was such a great and relatable piece!!! I liked how you explored the idea of finding positive things in life when surrounded by negativity. It reminds me that I should try to stop and think about the things in life that still make me happy whenever I start having negative trains of thought. I definitely agree with you that we should always try to enjoy the simple things in life that bring us joy.
Anel, this was so nicely written as I expected. I think it's so cool that you decided to show the flip side of the things you loved in life. Just like how theres certain small things that brighten your mood, there are small things that can dampen it, but thats what helps highlight the nice things ! So so cute. Good job.
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