I’m an unhappy person.
I’m cynical. I’m negative. I see the glass half empty. In my eyes, optimism is a folly reserved for those weak at heart and I sneer at it. I wallow in self-pity like I’m getting paid to do it.
How pathetic is that?
I mean, an entire month of doing nothing but laying in my bed eating cheese puffs and overthinking everything hasn’t helped my outlook, nor has the prospect of classes and studying and having to wake up at a decent hour again.
But I am so, so sick of this mindset. Not only is it detrimental to my overall health and well being (I know, I sound like a self-help pamphlet), but who wants to be around someone like that? I’m grateful I have any friends at all after all the whining and moping around I do.
Let’s pretend like it’s 2009 again and everyone is obsessed with that Kid Cudi song.
I am finally ready to get it: happiness.
I know it won’t be easy. I know I’ll never be one of those perma-smiling, always positive bubbly girls (nor, quite frankly, do I want to be). I just want to wake up without a sense of dread and with a sense of purpose.
So this is my plan for the next few months: try new things and gain new perspectives and mindsets. Get my miserable ass out of bed and into the real world. Stop re-watching Skins on Netflix while simultaneously crying and stuffing my face with the blinds pulled down at four in the afternoon. Do SOMETHING with myself, for the love of God.
I think my first step is to eliminate the words “attempt” and “try” from my vocabulary. I need to have more faith in myself and more faith in my abilities. Instead of saying or thinking or briefly entertaining the thought of bettering myself while I mindlessly scroll down Reddit, I need to just do it.
Choosing to write this column is that first step in itself. A year ago I would have laughed myself into a coma if someone told me that I would be writing a column about being happy.
But here I am, huh? And I have absolutely no idea how it’s going to work out because I seem to get myself into these types of situations before I really think about what I’m doing. It’s an endearing trait.
So I guess this is my first experience and my first word of advice toward a happier life: If you really want to do something, do it. I don’t care what it is.
What’s stopping you? Nerves? What other people will think? A lack of self- confidence? Time to get over it! Easier said than done, but when you think about it, there is literally nothing holding you back but yourself.
Take a chance. Go forth.
Cortni Dietz is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University and a copy editor and columnist for The Post. Tell her how to be happier at cd509910@ohiou.edu.
