One Reason to be Happy

Earlier today I was outside doing some yard work. I saw one of my neighbor's kids whom I used to babysit for. I said hello and asked him how he was doing and how school was. He told me "good" to both questions which is of course the typical response for a 7-year old boy. Then he said, "The only reason I am happy today is because I get to drive my dirt bike later." I automatically assumed it was because of the gorgeous weather that he was able to drive it on this particular day. Although I quickly learned it was because a part for it that was missing had arrived in the mail.

I immediately wanted to tell him that he had more than one reason to be happy today, but in the life of a child, happiness comes from fun. It does not come from little moments, nice weather, or fall colors like it does once we become older and understand the concept of appreciating the small things in life. I decided to smile at the fact that he had one reason to be happy. The above conversation was short, but it made me think about how we all have one reason to be happy each day. Even if there is only one reason, that's what is important.

So I would like to know, what is your only reason to be happy today? Now go focus on that and be happy.

Quotes I Love #2

"If you ever want to enjoy the rainbow, be prepared to endure the storm."
-Warren Wiersbe

"This could be such a beautiful world if we could all care just a little more."
-Rosalind Welcher

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
-Anatole France

"And in the end it's not the years in a life, it's the life in years."
-Abraham Lincoln

"First we make our habits, then ours habits make us."
-Charles C. Noble

"Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness, and just be happy."
-Guillaume Apollonaire

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck."
-Dalai Lama

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."
-Confucius

"Actions speak louder than words but not nearly as often."
-Mark Twain

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
-Mother Theresa

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
-Walt Disney

"Your regrets aren't what you did, but what you didn't do. So I take every opportunity."
-Cameron Diaz

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
-J.K. Rowling

"The kind of beauty I want is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within--strength, courage, dignity."
-Ruby Dee

"My theory is that if you look confident, you can pull off anything--even if you have no clue what you are doing."
-Jessica Alba

"Often you just have to rely on your intuition."
-Bill Gates

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
-Anonymous

"The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity."
-Zig Ziglar

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
-Victor Frankl

Forming Impressions

This semester I am taking an Interpersonal Communication course. Based off of my first day of class, I am confident when I say it will more than likely be my favorite course of the semester. My professor for the course began the first day of class in much different way compared to the usual: "Hi, my name is..., let's take attendance, here's the syllabus, ok...see ya next class! routine."

Nope, this first day was unlike any other. My professor did something that I consider to be very out of the ordinary for the first day of class. She did politely introduced herself; however, after that she immediately instructed us to get into groups of four and come up with a list of words and ways that we would use to describe her. She specifically wanted us to put down personality traits, teaching style, hobbies, and anything else we saw fit in describing her.

After my group members introduced ourselves to each other, we began creating a list. I couldn't help but wonder that this particular exercise was about how quickly a person forms opinions about another person. We had about 5 minutes to create a list, then my professor made a massive list on the board before erasing all of the things that did not fit her. We were left with an idea of who she is as a person, what she likes to do, and how she chooses to teach.

She concluded by telling us that the moment we meet a person, we begin forming impressions about them without even realizing it. What was funny about that comment was that I was thinking the same exact thing as she sad it. I was surprised that it was not something I had ever thought about on my own. I'll admit, I am a judgemental person; however, I give every person more than one chance to make a positive impression on me so they have an opportunity to remove themselves from the category I automatically placed them in.

I found this whole concept to be rather interesting. I'm anxious to see how the semester unfolds and to see what type of an impression this particular professor makes on me the second, third, and fourth class periods because I have a feeling it will change. If she teaches in an interactive manner like she did on the very first day, I know this will be a truly enjoyable class for me.

Take a moment to think about this. What type of impression do you leave on those you meet? How quickly do you form impressions about others? Are the impressions you form positive, negative, or both? What can you do to ensure that you are consistently making a positive first impression?

Top 10 Moments of my First Day: Fall 2011

Today was my first day back on campus at UW-L. It was a bittersweet feeling returning to classes because I've had an incredible summer and am not quite ready for it to officially end. Luckily for me, my day was filled with moments that made me embrace my day. I think that this has been my best first day of any semester thus far. Below I have recapped my "top 10" moments of my day:

1. Finding a good parking spot. I commute to school and have to deal with parking every day, but today it was super easy.

2. Seeing a familiar face the second I walked on campus. It may not seem like that big of deal, but as I was making my way towards campus this morning I couldn't help but think back to that same moment last fall. That fall I was lonely and didn't have many friends because I was a transfer student and new to UW-L. Today, I literally reached the first block of campus and saw a familiar face. That continued all day which means UW-L feels like home to me even more than it did last semester.

3. Having my first class in the new building. For the last year, I watched as construction workers put in countless hours of work into a new classroom building. All I can say is that they did a fantastic job!

4. Beautiful weather. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to enjoy as I walked from class to class.

5. No statistics class! A year ago today I got to begin each of my days with a statistics class. Math is my least favorite topic so it was wonderful to not have to return to that same classroom this fall.

6. Lunch hour. I got into a little bit of trouble on my lunch hour. I met my friend, Ben, for lunch at my favorite bar. This of course was not the smartest idea, but now I can say that I did two shots in between my classes, and it was fun!

7. Riverside Park. After lunch, I was able to spend an hour walking around beautiful Riverside Park. I developed an even deeper appreciation for where I live and how gorgeous it is.

8. Mary Kay makeover with Kailin. My good friend, Kailin, and I went and got Mary Kay makeovers before my last class of the day. It was fun to be pampered and enjoy time with an amazing person.

9. Getting out of my 3 hour night class 2 hours early. This one is self-explanatory.

10. Feeling ready to take on the semester. This semester is going to more than likely be my most challenging semester yet. Not only are my classes going to be hard, but they are also going to be time consuming. I'm confident that I can find the balance I need to find between school, studying, work, my horses, sleep, and friends.

Who is your Susie?

The following is a heart-warming and inspiring story I received in an email.

Come with me to a third grade classroom...

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of the sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a class mate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. 'You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.