February can often be a demotivating month. It’s easy to feel an overwhelming sense of gloom as Christmas is far behind us and summer is even farther ahead of us.
To combat my wintery woes, I undertook the 30 Days of Happiness challenge — a movement that challenges us to identify one memory every day that made our lives a little brighter. After challenging myself to this month-long feat, I found it immensely worthwhile and made me cherish moments I would not have had before. I found that we could all potentially benefit from finding a sense of hope and wholesomeness in the everyday.
Here is a photo album and stories of little sparks that made my month happier. Interestingly, when I reflected on these events, it would often bring a broad smile to my face.
Day 1: Most plants bloom in the summer, but not my house plant, it is in full bloom in the middle of November and still going strong. I joke with my family that the plant is very confused about the weather (which we all are at times). This is the only plant I have managed to keep alive EST. 2017.Day 2: While exams have not yet hit, I had the chance to binge watch one of my favorite shows on Netflix — Chef’s Table.Day 3: I started off the day with attempting a new recipe for guacamole. It did not taste as appetizing as it looks, but it’s the effort that counts.Day 4: It was my partner’s 26th birthday and we celebrated with a surprise cheesecake.Day 5: While I’m definitely less tempted to bring my camera around in the winter, I surprised myself with this view of downtown. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder indeed.Day 6: After an exhausting 14 hour day at school, I came home to some delicious homemade Thai curry by my mom. Little acts of kindness (and food) are what keep me going every day.Day 7: With the stress of approaching exams, I decided to spend an afternoon at the petting zoo. Animal therapy really works and you should try it.Day 8: I woke up to the sound of squawking around the house. It turns out my mom managed to train one of our multiple rescue budgies, Cyan. Cyan can now play step up with my mom. He continues to amuse me every day.Day 9: It wasn’t a particularly special day as I stayed indoors to cram for an upcoming final but I found that even on a sad, droopy day like this, you can make amazing discoveries. For example, did you know Quizlet is a flashcard app that works on your phone AND has an audio function that reads your cards aloud? I sure didn’t until today.Day 10: In the middle of my studying for gastrointestinal health course, I gained a sudden motivation to stay healthy during the exams — which included creating a 7 day low carb meal plan. Today’s menu items include some tasty folates and protein that will keep me going for the upcoming weeks.Day 11: Despite my efforts to stay healthy, the second day after my low carb diet began, I became dreadfully sick. However, in my hours of non-productivity, at least there was a warm fire and some marshmallows ready for roasting.Day 12: The sickness dragged on but exams didn’t stop coming. While I was coughing up a storm, my partner made some delicious Southern Chili to help the recovery process.Day 13: After completing 50% of our exams, my classmates hosted a sushi celebration that not only de-stressed our minds but added a healthy dose of omega-3s to our diet.Day 14: While exam days seem gloomy and miserable, I still had meal-prep to look forward to. Meal prepping is an excellent study break that forces me to be creative. For example, we ran out of pasta sauce and instead of purchasing a new bottle, I decided to mix Tabasco sauce and some tomato juice to make an equally-enticing substitute. Before you think this is disgusting, you should try it first. Taste before you judge!Day 15: My dad came home early from the SPCA and called me as he brought this beautiful tyke home. I came home early from the library so my sister and I could name him. We decided to name him “Sky” after the color of his feathers and welcomed him to our home.Day 16: Despite having forgotten my 3 year anniversary with my partner, he surprised me with this bouquet.Day 17: The diffuser I ordered from Amazon finally came. While I don’t believe in aromatherapy, I do like looking at colorful lights. Before bed, I spent at least twenty minutes staring at this light. Call me crazy, but it kept me sane in the final stretch of exams.Day 18: My mom keeps a fermented tofu collection in her basement. Sometimes, I enjoy staring at her collection and laughing at how crazy she is with her color coordinated, labelled, fermented tofu collection. But in reality, I am thankful because fermented tofu goes well with everything, even bland rice. Today, when I didn’t have time to do meal prep, I did open up a jar of her fermented tofu and it was delicious.Day 19: Despite it only being a week since starting my low carb diet, I already started seeing improvements to my body mass index. Staying committed to eating healthy not only makes me more energetic but more optimistic as well.Day 20: After completing the first semester in the second year of my program, my class celebrated over some good champagne.Day 21: Having neglected my musical hobbies during this entire month. I spent an entire day immersed in music and recording new covers for my soon-to-launch YouTube channel.Day 22: After religiously following my low carb diet for almost 2 weeks, I broke the diet with this basket of fried seafood. But nobody is perfect and I forgave myself for the cheat day because catching up with friends over Chinese food was more important.Day 23: While I never had experienced authentic Thai cuisine before, one of my close friends introduced me to a new Thai restaurant in Edmonton. These colorful dishes are as delicious as they look!Day 24: Our family celebrates a very non-traditional Christmas dinner. Instead of roasted rotisserie turkey, we like to put our turkey in between a thin layer of dough. My mom’s famous turkey dumplings is one thing I always look forward to around Christmas.Day 25: I spent a peaceful Christmas surrounded by my extended family. And of course, admiring the tree I helped decorate.Day 26: Trying to avoid the Boxing Day rush, we visited a local board game cafe and spent our paychecks on some old fashioned board games with a new twist.Day 27: Very rarely do I get the chance to avoid Edmonton winters, but when I do I’m off to Vegas. We spent a fantastic first night at the musical fountains.Day 28: Rather than gambling, we spent our day visiting a miniature zoo, aquarium and botanical gardens. The highlight of my day was watching these fish eat an entire cabbage! Who knew fish ate veggies.Day 29: Spent the day trying different dishes at the buffet. It was a surreal experience trying bone marrow for the first time.Day 30: Despite not being a wine connoisseur I learned a lot about exotic wine through a wine tasting tour. Also learned that I am quite a lightweight!
Because I had so much fun doing this challenge, I decided to wrap my December up with a final memory of 2019.
Day 31: Another end of the year has come and gone. We came back in time for the New Years and had a lovely shared hot pot experience surrounded by family and friends.
Here’s your challenge: capture your happiest moments of each day in a photograph, video or a journal entry and share it with your friends and family. While our experiences can be so different, you may find that our greatest moments of joy and sadness are often shared.
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