I try to be a really joyful person. In my opinion, to have joy means to constantly be at peace. So in this manner, I try to be optimistic and not let small things get me down.

At the same time, I’m a really emotional person. It doesn’t take much to get a big reaction out of me. Because of this, small problems do tend to get me down and stop me from feeling joyful. Maybe I was feeling great for the entire day until I realize that I didn’t do well on an exam or that I made a mistake somewhere in my day. And while it makes sense to feel down when things don’t go the way that I hoped, I think this way of thinking is really shortsighted because I tend to forget everything else that, until that moment, had been bringing me joy.

So when something doesn’t go my way and I start to feel upset, I stop. I remember that I am alive. I’m living in a city that I love, studying what I love, with people that I love. I am loved. And even if all of that wasn’t true, I have value. I deserve love and respect and I deserve to have joy.

Then, after I remember all of this, I bring myself back to the issue at hand. Say, for example, the thing that upset me was that a classmate was rude to me. I remember that she may not have realized that the thing she said hurt me. I also remember that, if she had been trying to hurt me, then this wasn’t a person that I should be giving an influence on me. Whatever the situation, I put it in perspective and decide how upset I really should get about it.

When I think this way, I don’t feel better right away. But, by evaluating every situation that gets me down, I am able to react more effectively and stay joyful regardless of what’s going on around me.

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