Happiness

Disclaimer: I'm going to get a little cheesy. Maybe even sappy.

Life is stressful. Everyone in CreComm is going a little crazy with all the semester-end assignments. We all can't wait to get out of school for a while and relax. But I think we need to make the most of the next two weeks of school. Life can still be wonderful, and stress doesn't need to control our lives.

I write this on the first day of December because I had a lovely moment of realization. Despite all my stress and work to do, I spent an evening at the Youth for Christ drop-in centre that I volunteer at weekly. I spent my night with a bunch of adolescent girls who spent the whole time giggling. We made Christmas snow globes, ate chips, talked about holidays, and took a walk outside in the beautiful snow.

And I realized something. While walking arm-in-arm with one of my young friends through the crisp snow and pointing out the cool frosted tips of bushes under Christmas lights, I realized that happiness is moments like these. Yes, jobs are important. School is important. Commitments are important. And all of those things stress us out and make us infinitely busy. But if we spend all of our lives focusing on those important things, and never take the time to, well, take time, we will be quite miserable.

So take a step back. Maybe take a night off of homework or work. Do something that makes you truly happy. Whether it's volunteering, taking a walk outside before it gets too cold, or watching The Big Bang Theory while eating ice cream, just relax and take a hold of the small, happy moments.