Smile, darling.

If you genuinely wish to feel alive, you’ve got to keep your lips tinted upward, whether it’s seven in the morning on a late winter day or nearly dusk after a beautiful summer night. Every day, as you wake up and make your bed, make it your habit to examine the nature drowning in the darkness of the dawn. Think of sweet memories and listen to soothing symphonies as the rain trickles down your windowpane.


Don’t hesitate to sit down next to the handsome young man in your train cart. If he is dissecting the pages of an old Hemingway novel, share with him your fascination of the pages that exist within. You haven’t seen anyone read Hemingway since you were eleven. Tell him this. If he replies with mutual interest, don’t think twice about telling him that although the novel he’s reading is nice, A Farewell to Arms is your absolute favorite. If there isn’t a man in the train that you are fascinated by, find someone else to talk to, someone at random, and by simply asking them out for a cup of coffee, you may receive wondrous outcomes. Even if your person of selection likes their coffee dark, without cream and sugar, you two may have been looking for each other all along.


Don’t complain about the woman standing on the opposite end of the street, the one with her breasts hanging out of her clingy shirt. Don’t look at the jean-clad skirt on her bottom end, the one that ends a several inches above her thigh. Remind yourself that what she wears isn’t any of your business. Although you may be extremely offended by her clothing style, walk up to her and tell her that she is beautiful. Because if you saw how she worked late nights for the sake of donating to homeless shelters and how she was only dressing in this way because she respected her body enough to expose it, I’m sure you would believe it.


If you’ve had a bad day, drown your skin in an hour-long shower. Allow the hot water to pound your mind blank and let it sting your skin. Your nerves will crackle as the water will come in contact with your bare body, but if you let it, the roaring liquid erupting from the showerhead will bring your mind ease. Doing this will release you of all stressful thoughts. Trust me.

After you’ve hopped out of the shower, wash all of your sheets and clothes until they smell richly of chocolate scones. If you’ve run out of chocolate scone fresheners, buy some lavender incense from the corner store. They’re the next best option, especially on rainy days.


Be optimistic. You are not the lover who has been left, no longer the student who has failed his favorite course, and no longer the perfectionist who has been deemed imperfect. You’ve got to stop getting frustrated over things that won’t matter in a several years. There are plenty of other people in this world, plenty of other courses waiting to be taken, and trust me when I say that at one point in their lives, everyone struggles with imperfection. However, how you choose to utilize this moment will be permanent. It will be forever engraved into your memory, like a tattoo that cannot be undone. Use your time wisely.


If all you’ve ever wanted to do is travel the world, then do just that. Pack your bags and get on the next available flight to Mexico. But if you cannot afford it, remind yourself that you do not need to visit the Eiffel Tower or hike in the Himalayas for an adventure. The adventure that you’ve always sought may be anywhere, even in a place as simple as your backyard.


Lastly, pretend that you are living in a confidence bubble. If someone tells you that you should do something that you do not want to do, don’t listen to them. You shouldn’t do anything. If there is anything in the world that you should do, it is that you should be happy.