Make Your Own Sunshine

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(Written by Hannah Proctor)

Every morning, you have a choice. You can choose to embrace the day with a smile or with a frown. Most of the time, it doesn’t feel like we have that choice. We have a test that day or a presentation, and we automatically wake up in a bad mood. Some days we don’t know why, but we’re sad or angry or otherwise just not happy. You think you have no control of your mood. But you do.

It’s definitely a hard thing to decide, especially at 8 in the morning, but it’s a necessary decision. I have had a lot of days where I wake up generally irritable, but this summer, my mom gave me a new quote: “make your own sunshine.” At first, I just brushed it off and didn’t really think about it. But then, as I was only going through the motions of my day, I started to let it sink in.

There are a lot of implications behind those four simple words. Make your own sunshine. You have a choice to see the light in people and in the activities you do. You have a choice to see the light in a challenge. You have a choice to see the light in another day, no matter how cloudy that day may seem at first. Any situation can be a good one if you look for the sun and allow it to shine through.

Some days are easier, and some are harder; but ever since I have decided to live my life by those words, I have been a better person. Not only do I feel happier with myself, but that happiness spreads to other people. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when someone around you only sees the sun.

Try it for just one day. Wake up one morning and make the decision that you’re going to be happy. Suppress initial reactions of anger when someone cuts you off and believe that they have somewhere really important to be; ignore frustration when you get a bad grade on a test and reassure yourself that you’ll work harder next time. I guarantee it’ll be addictive. Even after just one day.

So let the sunshine through. Make your own if you can’t find it, and you’ll have a much rewarding day.

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Make Your Own Sunshine

(Written by Hannah Proctor)

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