Happiness Comes First

I’ve realized at the ripe age of 26 how important happiness truly is. Life is too short to do things you don’t love, be around people that don’t bring you happiness, do things just to do them because that's what you think you're supposed to do or what you think is expected of you. I realize in writing this that it is easier said than done. I personally find it easy to get caught up in the what I’m “supposed” to be doing part of life. In your mid to late twenties, people expect you to have a job that can support you, be on your way to marriage and babies, and finally be getting your ish together in the years after you graduated from a top 50 university. These expectations sometimes take their toll. I mean good lord we have been in a crazy pandemic for the past two years and our world is constantly changing. I think it is okay to reevaluate what makes you happy, so you can grow and change too.

I’m lucky to I have an incredible support system made up of my parents and my group of friends. They are my family. Sometimes, I have to slow down and remind myself of the little things, such as sitting and reading a book with a cup of tea, having a picnic with my dog, sitting on the pier at the bay house, buying a bouquet of “treat yourself flowers” at the store, or singing show tunes at the top of my lungs in my car. All of those little things compound into wonderful big things before you know it. Don’t get so caught up in what you think should make you happy and find the things that really do make you smile. You deserve to have all the happiness in the world. Remember that.

Take a minute to remember the last time you were truly happy. What was the cause?