Put On A Happy Face

 Photos by Biby Pacheco

I've been told that happiness is a habit. I listened to the words that came out of my friend's mouth as I mentally told myself, "What kind of hippie shit is this? I literally just want to vent about my bad day, I have no time for this new age nonsense."

Little did I know, while I was self indulging in the emotional down spiral that occurs when stress gets the best of me, my boyfriend at the time was trying to tell me something valuable: you control how hard life gets, so practice being happy and move on. The idea is that when the going gets rough you should practice a minute of quiet time to mentally tell yourself a) you are happy, b) things are great, and c) life is good so put on a happy face. Seems easy, but it's not. It's much easier to go ahead and feel entitled and whine (possibly cry). That's why it takes practice. I practice varying degrees of this "hippie shit" daily now, and true, sometimes I fail and wallow in sadness, but I pick myself up and find that I can be a better person because I try it.

My then boyfriend is now my fiancé, which is one of my greatest decisions in life because he is packed full of wise words like these. So the words in this post are for Nick, because I love him for being patient and because he indulges me while I continue to explore the other coping mechanisms while I learn the bigger, better picture.

I will list those other things now: retail therapy, assorted sweets and chocolate, dance parties with friends, foods with high fat content, pacing around a bright rainbow colored wall in a girlie dress, and gifts.

WEARING: 1   THREE FLOOR dress   2  CUYANA  tote