I always get contemplative around this time of year. 2010 is almost at an end, and I'll be turning a year older this upcoming Thursday.
The Chinese weren't lying when they said the Year of the Tiger would be a challenging one. You'd think being born a Tiger would bring some luck to this year. So yes this year has been challenging and I face another challenge even today haha...oh what surprises life likes to throw at us. The year's not over so anything can happen right?
Though times are tough, I've been able to remain strong by keeping positive and by enjoying all the lovely things that life has to offer me. Today I'm inspired to write up my "Top 5 And A Half Things That Make Me Happy" list (in no particular order.)
Family & Friends: From my intermediate family, to my boyfriends family and my closest friends which I consider like my family; all of you are beautiful, inside and out. You have all been incredibly supportive throughout this year and so inspiring. Together we've shared some scary, sad and life changing moments. Although times were and still are difficult, I think the strength and love we have for one another holds us together to face any challenge that may come our way. Like my Foosball nickname in college...I aim to be a brick wall of China for you in times of trouble and dismay. Thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart; love you all dearly...enough with the mushiness now :P.
Music: What would I do without music? Music is therapy for me. One day when I was sharing music with one my colleagues, they said to me "so this is why you're always so happy." If I'm ever in a less than good mood, I can always zone out with my headphones on and enter a state of bliss. I'm happy to share any track that I like, as you can see if you follow me on Twitter. I do enjoy singing as well, although I'm no Christina Aguilera by any means. It's fun to sing along to a song, even if I don't know most of the lyrics...mostly I just like making up silly, random songs, which some of you have been witness to before. Hopefully if I can get some equipment together, I can start making some of my own music too, (although none with me singing haha) :).
Food: So this may be a huge surprise *sarcastic*. I've been coined as the "Food Monster" by my lovely boyfriend. I eat...I eat a lot...I eat a lot for a person my size...feeding me is like, feeding that monster you've been hiding in your closet from your parents because they wouldn't let you have that puppy and then your parents wonder where all the meat disappeared to from the deep freeze. I have been better with my food portions as I am more health conscious and want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But beyond the nutritional goodness and tastiness of these foods...I love that food brings people together. Food = lots of good times and memories.
Nature and Wildlife: Being close to nature and seeing animals in their natural habitat is an amazing experience to share with others. It's breathtaking to walk along a trail and come across a doe and her young (*sings* doe a deer a female deer.) I like to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city...and just listen to the birds chirp. You can see my reaction to the beauty of nature in this video where I luckily caught 2 blue herons at a marsh while I walked the dogs with my dad. It was kind of a double rainbow moment I would say :P.
Movies/Film: Movies capture a lot of the other things I love, including some of the things I can't fit on this list. Sometimes watching the right movie can make you feel happier than before you started watching it. Sometimes a movie will leave in stitches from laughing so hard. Sometimes the visuals may leave you captivated and inspired to do something creative or try something new. Sometimes the soundtrack will lead you to discover wonderful new artists to add to your play list. I think most people have a selection of movies that they hold dear to their heart for many different reasons. My all time fave is Spirited Away, as I've mentioned many a time. The animation, story and music is fascinating, uplifting, and all around amazing. This is a movie I related to when I was making the transition to college and my life away from home. I try to share this film with as many people as I can :P...and so I leave you with a trailer of Spirited Away!
Aha some of you may have thought I was done writing, but if you were counting then you would know I have half of something left which makes me happy. It's not really half a thing, it's definitely a huge part of everything that brings me joy. Here's my secret to happiness...I ultimately love making others happy. To share music to raise each others spirits, to be in the company of others when enjoying a meal, to experience rare moments of natural beauty with others, to connect and share feelings with others through film, and overall just spending time with the people I love. These are just little things...not big huge fancy things...but like one person said, it's the little things that count. This extends out to people I've never met. If I can lend money to someone in need of a meal, or help a person cross the street, any positive difference I can make to another person is what brings me happiness. I don't think there's a better feeling than making someones day a little bit brighter, even if it's as simple as saying "hello". So to wrap up this blog entry, I hope this made your day a little bit brighter and you too are able to find the things that make you happy when you're having a bad day or year for that matter. Thanks for reading!
If you should feel so inspired, I'd like to see posts from others about the things that make you happy :)...because that would make me happy :). Also this list could have been 100x longer :P.
The Chinese weren't lying when they said the Year of the Tiger would be a challenging one. You'd think being born a Tiger would bring some luck to this year. So yes this year has been challenging and I face another challenge even today haha...oh what surprises life likes to throw at us. The year's not over so anything can happen right?
Though times are tough, I've been able to remain strong by keeping positive and by enjoying all the lovely things that life has to offer me. Today I'm inspired to write up my "Top 5 And A Half Things That Make Me Happy" list (in no particular order.)
Family & Friends: From my intermediate family, to my boyfriends family and my closest friends which I consider like my family; all of you are beautiful, inside and out. You have all been incredibly supportive throughout this year and so inspiring. Together we've shared some scary, sad and life changing moments. Although times were and still are difficult, I think the strength and love we have for one another holds us together to face any challenge that may come our way. Like my Foosball nickname in college...I aim to be a brick wall of China for you in times of trouble and dismay. Thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart; love you all dearly...enough with the mushiness now :P.
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| My Wii family..or wee family if we're talking about height :P. |
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| Playing The Beatles: Rock Band with my dad and boyfriend :). |
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| I still have those same headphones now. I am 17 in this pic...the years have flown by! |
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| Not so health conscious in this photo as I devour my lobster steak dinner on my dad's b-day last year. |
Movies/Film: Movies capture a lot of the other things I love, including some of the things I can't fit on this list. Sometimes watching the right movie can make you feel happier than before you started watching it. Sometimes a movie will leave in stitches from laughing so hard. Sometimes the visuals may leave you captivated and inspired to do something creative or try something new. Sometimes the soundtrack will lead you to discover wonderful new artists to add to your play list. I think most people have a selection of movies that they hold dear to their heart for many different reasons. My all time fave is Spirited Away, as I've mentioned many a time. The animation, story and music is fascinating, uplifting, and all around amazing. This is a movie I related to when I was making the transition to college and my life away from home. I try to share this film with as many people as I can :P...and so I leave you with a trailer of Spirited Away!
Aha some of you may have thought I was done writing, but if you were counting then you would know I have half of something left which makes me happy. It's not really half a thing, it's definitely a huge part of everything that brings me joy. Here's my secret to happiness...I ultimately love making others happy. To share music to raise each others spirits, to be in the company of others when enjoying a meal, to experience rare moments of natural beauty with others, to connect and share feelings with others through film, and overall just spending time with the people I love. These are just little things...not big huge fancy things...but like one person said, it's the little things that count. This extends out to people I've never met. If I can lend money to someone in need of a meal, or help a person cross the street, any positive difference I can make to another person is what brings me happiness. I don't think there's a better feeling than making someones day a little bit brighter, even if it's as simple as saying "hello". So to wrap up this blog entry, I hope this made your day a little bit brighter and you too are able to find the things that make you happy when you're having a bad day or year for that matter. Thanks for reading!
If you should feel so inspired, I'd like to see posts from others about the things that make you happy :)...because that would make me happy :). Also this list could have been 100x longer :P.
