Rhythm of A Life: me

May in Mental Health Awareness Month! I've been thinking about sharing some things about my own experience with mental health for a while. I'm a big believer that the only way to decrease stigma is to be willing to talk about things, and I figured this month would be a good time. I'm still extremely nervous to share this. Please be nice.
I started having Panic Attacks/Panic Disorder during my freshmen year of college. After my car accident that summer, I began struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (These are both clinically diagnosed with the criteria found in the DSM-5 which I recommend looking at before you throw mental illnesses like these around. Another topic for another day). After trying everything I could think of, I was at the point that I felt I was just going to have to accept these things as part of my human experience. Moving to Arkansas and starting graduate school was really hard on my mental health. As I'm sure you've seen, anxiety and depression often come hand in hand as problems for someone to deal with like two sides of the same coin. This is because they both can be correlated with a decreased amount of serotonin in the brain. I entered a major depressive episode after moving to Arkansas that lasted for about 7 or 8 months total. Around the beginning of this time, I had some people remind me (thank you Dad and Brian) that the way I was feeling did not have to be my new normal. These were not things about myself that I had to accept. Mental health is just as important as any other kind of health.
There are problems that you can encounter mentally that cannot be fixed with time, rest, change, prayer, exercise, friends, etc., the same way that there are physical things that need medical intervention. I know this because I tried them all. Even though I was terrified to do it, I decided to begin looking for a mental health medication that could work for me in October because I was at the end of my rope in a lot of ways. Every day was a bad day, and I couldn't do anything to fix it.
After 7 months of trying, 4 medications, too many side effects, and some dosage adjustments, I am soooooo happy to have finally found something that works for me. I finally feel like myself again after a very long time of feeling entirely empty and exhausted. I'm actually a wholly healthy person for the first time in forever. This doesn't mean that I don't have bad days just that they come far less often, and I am much better equipped to deal with them.
If you are on this journey, I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone. I was really close to giving up a lot throughout this process, and I'm so glad I didn't. I know how frustrating these things can be when you're trying so hard to feel better and nothing seems to work. At a point, you forget what feeling better would even be like. It feels never ending, but it isn't. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. Keep trying.

P.S. I would recommend talking to someone who has been through this process as you are going through yours. I will gladly be that person for you! If you have questions about anything medication or mental health related, I would love to answer them from what I've experienced or researched. I know there are a lot of people who have never experienced these kinds of things. These are very common issues to deal with though, so I do think attempting to be educated is very important.

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I've been thinking a lot about my relationship recently. Well actually I've been thinking about two of my relationships -- those being with the Lord and the one with my boyfriend. See, the one with my boyfriend became a long distance relationship last summer when he started playing professional baseball in the Dodgers organization. This post has been sitting in my drafts for a long time because I've been nervous to share it. Now he's back at spring training, so it popped back into my mind. The more time I've spent doing this whole long distance thing I've realized that a lot of things that I would apply to it should be applying to my relationship with the Lord, too. So get ready for a double dose of relationship advice (neither of which I feel very qualified to give).

1. Count the Cost and Decide that It's Worth It

When it comes to starting a long distance relationship, you have to take a minute to think about what you're getting yourself into and be absolutely sure you want to do it. I've never come across something so consistently challenging in my life. If I had doubts about the person, there is no way that I would be willing to put in the amount of effort that it takes to maintain a healthy relationship. You have to decide that the sacrifice is worth it because of how much you care about the person.

One of the most intimidating things in the Bible to me is the idea of counting the cost. Jesus says in Luke 14:33 "Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye, you can't be my disciple." Jesus is basically saying if you aren't willing to put my plans above your own don't even bother. Christ is meant to be absolutely central in our lives and our first priority. This can mean giving up a lot of things whether that be friends, worldly pleasures, or just that extra few hours of sleep on a Sunday. Maintaining a relationship is hard work, and it takes your whole heart. Romans 8:31 says, "If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything He wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?" The Lord has already decided that we're worth it and done everything He could for us. We need to return that favor.

2. Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder.

This is a really important idea to remember. As a person who has the love language of quality time, absence couldn't have a larger effect on our relationship than it does. I also have anxiety, which in this distance, shows itself as feeling lonely and rejected whenever long periods of time pass without us talking to each other. (Not to mention, the definition I have for that "long period of time" seems to change everyday). Now, I'm not saying sit on the phone with each other every hour of the day. You have a life to live and people right in front of you that you need to be enjoying also, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to keep your partner involved. Whether it is sending them random pictures of your day or just filling them in on the details of day, it keeps you both feeling like you are an important part in each other's lives.

When it comes to God, the same rules apply. James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and He will come near to you" (NIV). How can we expect to build a deep relationship if we are only devoting a few hours a week to hearing what He has to say to us? I've struggled with this for a long time because I put too much pressure on myself to do it. It's almost like I think if I don't spend an hour reading the Bible that it isn't worth anything, but that isn't something you can just jump into. I really suggest getting a translation that works best for you. I love the Message as a Bible for reading, and I take my ESV with me to classes. Also, take that pressure off. Start out just trying to read one chapter a day or pick a few days that you are going to read with what works best in your schedule. One of the weirdest things is that when you start the process of making time, you'll realize that you've always had the time to devote.

3. Communication is Key

On a related note, communication is so important. In the last point, I talked about frequency of communication. Another important thing to consider is the type of communication and making sure your points are getting across clearly as you intend them. The best thing you could ever do is try to schedule times that you know you'll talk to each other on the phone or FaceTime. Let's get real, texting kind of sucks. If all you do is text, you are basically just pen pals with your partner, and you miss out on so many of the best things like hearing them laugh and getting to see their expressions. You also don't get to hear the tone they say things with. I couldn't even begin to count the amount of times I've projected a tone on to a text from someone else where it didn't belong. Texts can so easily come across as angry or rude. Then, it becomes awkward to respond to and makes you feel like you've done something wrong that you just can't figure out. This can be largely avoided through using the phone what it was actually invented for - speaking to each other.

On the other side of this, communication with God is a bit more complicated as we can't hear from him directly anymore. We do have the words that He left for us which goes back to the last point of spending time in them. John 15:7 says, "But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon." Prayer is the best avenue of communication to God, but it can also be hard to make time for that. I've started trying to bring anything that makes me feel a bit anxious before Him. When you bring the little things, you'll start to bring the big things too. When you make the effort to keep Him involved in those big things, it is easier to be in the center of His will for you.

Psalm 16:7-8 "The wise counsel God gives me when I'm awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I'll stick with God; I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go."

4. Be Open

While you're communicating, it has to be open and honest. Over time I've found out the when I'm more honest I am about the way that I'm feeling, I get a response that is closer to the one that I want. I really struggled a lot when my boyfriend got picked up last summer. I couldn't sleep, I didn't want to eat, and I cried almost every time someone asked me about it. I somehow expected him to know that this is the response I was having. When I wasn't getting the attention from him that I wanted, it just made everything worse. Then, I actually told him what was going on and his effort level changed dramatically. This same principle can apply to stories throughout our relationship. The other person has to know what is actually going on in your brain to be able to respond accordingly.

Now the part of this that applies to the Lord is a bit different considering He already knows our thoughts and our hearts. I wouldn't say that in this case it is as much about being willing to talk to Him as it is about being open to the plan He has. Like Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts" (NIV). It is easy to slip into thinking that you know best. Sometimes things are going to come out of nowhere and throw off your plans, and maybe that is because God has something better in mind for you. Romans 5:1-2 "We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise."

5. Trust in the Promises

Trust is really important in any relationship but especially in one in which you are separated by distance. You both have opportunities to violate the trust of the other person. You will drive yourself insane if you are unable to believe what your partner tells you. I, personally, think this is a bit easier if you started off being together and then were separated as you had a real chance to get to know the person and build that with them. Either way, you have to know that they are as committed to you as you are to them.

A verse that I have found myself clinging to recently (and quoting over and over) is Romans 8:28 which says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." This is one of the greatest promises that the Lord makes us after that of eternal life with him. We don't get to define what good is, so it can be hard to see at the time. That doesn't mean it isn't coming or that there isn't a different way to look at the situation you have found yourself in. Psalm 37:4-5 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act." Trust is just as important in this relationship as it is in any other one.

6. It's not all about you.

You have to make sacrifices for the other person, and that comes in many forms. That can be in staying up late (because timezones suck), dealing with feelings of loneliness, and the money it takes to go see them. You're sacrificing time you could be out to talk to them and choosing to stay with them even though you can't be together. Often, you'll be called to place their needs and feelings above what might be the best option for you.

This takes a bit of a different turn when looking at the Christian's relationship to God. While yes we are called to sacrifice some worldly pleasures, I don't think that is the best way to apply this principle. I like to think of it more as viewing yourself through the light of who God is. Romans 12:3 says, "The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for Him." Yeah, it isn't all about you in this relationship either, but that is because you honestly don't bring a lot to it. Isaiah 64:6 calls our righteous acts "filthy rags." We are saved purely through the power of God and our willingness to accept His help. Psalm 40:2 says, "He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip." Anything that you have that is good was given to you by God which we're told in James 1:17. When you start to view the good things in your life as gifts, you are able to begin to grasp what He has done for you.

7. You're allowed to have feelings that aren't positive.

I wish so much that I would have known this during the summer, and that is why it's important for me to talk about it. If I haven't implied it enough in this post, being in a long distance relationship is not fun. Also from a personal standpoint, there are a lot of things about my current situation that are completely out of my control. I don't like those things, and I don't like the fact that everything about them is entirely unpredictable. When my boyfriend first got picked up, everyone kept telling me not to rain on his parade which was the hardest thing in the world to try to do. I was miserable, but I wasn't supposed to tell the person who I talk to about everything about it? I don't think so. One of the bonuses of having a partner is that there is another person for you to work and talk through your feelings with. That is a strength not a weakness. Be sure that these feelings just come in seasons though. This should never be anything that is ruling your relationship as its central theme. Just remember that you are a person, and you're allowed to have feelings. It's best to tell the other person so they can help you sort them out.

It is healthy to have doubts in my personal opinion. I'm sure that there are others who would disagree with me on that. I believe that if you never ask questions your faith isn't built on anything firm. You're basically the foolish man who built his house on sand. When the rains come and the floods rise, your house is going to go splat just like the song says. Don't count yourself out or feel like a bad Christian just cause you have a few questions. Psalms 94:19 says, "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy" (NIV). From personal experience, the answer God has for your questions will satisfy that desire for knowledge. You're also allowed to struggle with different things sometimes. 2 Corinthians 4:8 says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (NIV). I don't know about you but none of those first words sound very positive to me. Paul is telling people that problems are going to come along, and he ends that chapter by telling people to endure because good times are coming. My favorite verse applying to this is James 1:12 which says, "Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."

8. Always have a day to look forward to.

In both of these relationships, we might not be able to identify the end date. I have no idea when my long distance relationship is finally going to become a regular relationship again. That is why it is important to try to always know the next time you're going to see each other. Try to never say goodbye without knowing when you'll be back together. There was a time when my boyfriend was acting like baseball season was all year round and that we wouldn't see each other until he was done playing altogether. If you've ever wanted to know what hopeless feels like, it is that. The frustration from that issue spilled over into our relationship causing issues. Now, I know all the times that I am going to see him for the next year. (Guess what? Baseball season is only 7 months of the year). Having the general idea of when and how much you'll be together takes a lot of frustration out of the equation.

I also have no idea when Jesus is coming back or the day that I'm going to die or which one will happen first for that matter. That being said, I know that I have something coming in the future that is going to be so much better than what I have now, and I know that I can't wait to see that. In John 14:2-4 Jesus tells us, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." If He's been preparing for the last 2000 years, you can bet its going to be pretty sweet once we get there.

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I warned you yesterday that this one was serious, so be prepared because it's going to get heavy. This is quite the departure from what I normally post on here. It's called Rhythm of a Life, and this was a big part of mine.

If you know me personally, then you might know that I had a pretty serious car accident last summer. Actually, it was a year ago today to be exact. I don't remember anything about the actual wreck. All I know is that I was on my way to spend the weekend with my grandparents. I was about 10 minutes from their houses when I ran off the road a little bit. The place that I went off at was so steep. Once I was off the road, I didn't have a chance of getting back on it. What's weird about this is that my grandmother had a bad feeling about me coming the whole time. She called me three times during the trip. One of which was 2 minutes before I had my wreck (Someone told me that later because I don't remember it).

There were 3 people traveling behind me: a man on a motorcycle who watched the entire thing happen and two nurses that didn't even see me in the ditch. The man on the motorcycle waved them down, so they knew something must be wrong. I'm so glad they turned around and came back. If the fact that 2 nurses were the people who stopped to help me doesn't tell you that the Lord was watching me that day, I don't know what could. I remember nothing of my encounter with them, but I got the chance to meet them at Christmas time. They filled in a few gaps. I was upside down, and my windows were smashed out. One of them crawled in the passenger window and one in the window of the seat behind mine. They couldn't see my face at the time, so they just took some time to talk to me. They said I was very calm about it which I chalk up to having no idea what was happening. They took my seatbelt off because I was having trouble breathing. They had called the police who decided to call MedFlight. Now, we are to the parts that I remember. The first thing I remember after my accident is waking up in a helicopter and saying, "Is this real?" Much to my surprise, they said it was. They asked if I knew where I was when I had the wreck. I confidently answered the Natchez Trace, and that confident answer was wrong. As it turns out, I lost about 30 minutes of my life somewhere in there. If you hadn't guessed already, I was definitely concussed. (Side note: To this day, I'm still more afraid of driving on the Trace than I am of the actual location of my accident. I go a different way to avoid the Trace completely).

I blacked out again and woke up in the hospital to the sound of a lot of commotion around me. This is when I realized that the wreck had actually happened. The first questions they asked me were, "Were you texting?" and "Why weren't you wearing your seatbelt?" Let me be clear, I was definitely not texting (the timestamps on my phone were checked), and I absolutely was wearing my seatbelt. Now, I'm going to get on my car safety soapbox for a second. DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE. It is so dangerous. If you are a teenager and you have a wreck, it is the first thing they will assume happened. Please don't live up to that stereotype. No conversation is worth possibly losing your own life or taking another's. If the conversation is urgent, just call. Don't be foolish enough to think that you are "good" at texting and driving. It isn't a skill where practice makes perfect. Distracted driving is dangerous driving. Always. You are operating a 2000 pound vehicle, and that deserves all of your attention. Trust me, you don't want the massive helicopter/hospital bills just because you wanted to tell someone you were almost there. WEAR YOUR SEATBELT. If you recall, the nurses who helped me had taken mine off. That is why they thought I wasn't wearing one. Trust me, I had the bruises to prove it. I will never get in a car without a seatbelt, and I don't drive until everyone in my car has their's on. They are in every car for a reason, and that reason is they can save your life. Please value yourself enough to put it on, and value your passengers enough to make them do the same. *steps off soapbox*

I faded in and out of consciousness through the whole ER experience. I distinctly remember the arrival of each of my family members. My cousin got there before me and was there to hold my hand through stitches. My grandmother and aunt were close behind. My brother was third, and I still can't erase the image of his face when he saw me from my mind. They told him I was okay, so he wasn't worried. His jaw dropped a lot when he finally made it there which is why we sent warning pictures to my parents. Oh yeah, my parents. I forgot to mention that they were 7 hours away on an anniversary vacation. Quite the present I got them. After a CAT scan, they gave me a run down of my injuries: a broken cheekbone, a concussion, a cut in my head that went all the way to my skull, and a need for stitches in my finger. How I flipped a car and only came out with those I will never understand.

After lots of stitches, cutting off a lot of my hair (my Alfalfa-like struggle was very real for a long time), and me begging them to let me sleep, I finally got moved to a room. Once I was in there, I finally got the sleep I begged for, so it's all a bit hazy. I got my brother to post in my social club's Facebook group just so someone out there would be lifting up some prayers. My parents finally arrived. My mom stayed with me, and my dad left to go reassure my grandparents that I was fine. You see, they saw the car before me, so they needed some convincing. The next morning they wanted me to eat. They offered me a burger, which if you know me, you'll feel that irony.

I have never moved so slowly in my life than I did the days after my accident. Between the soreness and waves of nausea, it took me at least 5 minutes just to stand up let alone move anywhere. The going home process was a slow one, but the staff was incredibly understanding. I made a stop at my grandparents and was met with tears. After getting home, the next few days and weeks were filled with soreness, crying, and only eating popsicles (everything else just sounded disgusting). In that time when I was feeling awful, I felt so much love being sent my way. I am so thankful for the people in my life. Whether they sent a text or were about to get in their car and drive to the hospital I was in, it was just what I needed in that time.

After all, "a joyful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22).

I am still in disbelief that I came out of this the way I did. The Lord was with me on July 12, 2013, of that I have no doubt. Whether it was sending the right people to me at the perfect time, the skill of the doctors, or the compassion that I found in my parents and friends, He had a hand in it all. For that, I can't even begin to be grateful enough.

I shared the pictures of my car on Facebook a couple weeks after the wreck. It took me that long to build up the courage to even look at them. They served as a part of my healing process and have helped me see how incredible this all is. My dad asked if I would be brave enough to share the pictures of myself after the wreck this year. The only ones I have were what my cousin sent to my mom and dad, so they would be fully prepared once they got to me. I didn't think I was brave enough, but I guess I got a stroke of courage while writing this to at least share one. Don't worry, it isn't like I was Two-Face from Batman, and I'm not showing you the picture they took of the cut in my head. If you still don't want to see the hospital picture, I totally understand. They just speak volumes for the Guardian that I had. To give a warning, the order is 2 car pictures, the hospital picture, 1 after I had gotten home, and 1 of the car I have now.

If you made it all the way to here, thanks for caring enough about me to care about this story. I am so thankful for you. Like I said shortly after my accident, I am truly blessed to know you.

That's right, I got another Kia Sorento. This gets the battle-tested stamp of approval from me.

Again, thank you for any love you sent my way after my accident last year. Love you all.

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Hello! By the title, I have obviously already revealed my big plans for my hair…I went purple! When I got my ombre done, I just caught some sort of hair dye bug (Is that a thing?). Once you have dyed your hair, you realize that it isn't as big of a deal as you thought it was originally. I've seen a lot of cool looking purple hair in my time spent on Pinterest and Tumblr, and I just got the urge to give that a go for a few reasons. First, purple has always been my favorite color. Second, I knew college was the only time that I am "allowed" to have purple hair. I figure that is frowned upon in most work places. Third, the dye my hairdresser used is just a semi-permanent one (washes out in 6-8 weeks), so really why the heck not dye my hair purple? I wanted my purple to be quite subtle, but I was determined to at least attempt it on my whole head. Because the hair on the top of my head is not only a medium brown but has also never been dyed, the chances of the color showing up vibrantly weren't great. (A purple tint is better than nothing in my mind). What I ended up with is a pretty deep purple showing up strongly on my ends (because they were bleached for the ombre) and a very dark brown color on top with a sort of purple sheen that shows up best in natural light. I'm happy with it, and I think purple is something that I will be coming back to in the future. Since this is the first time that I have put an actual pigment in my hair, I will do my best to document the fading process and see how well my color protecting hair products hold up to a real test. So far, it has been fading a little weird, so I'm thinking trying a different dye might be good for next time.

I want to explain the process that happened at the salon when I was getting this done. First off, I washed my hair the night before with the most stripping shampoo I have. I didn't want any product blocking the dye's access to my hair. The process was pretty standard. My hairdresser mixed up the color and then used a brush to apply it over my entire head. Then, I got to don the lovely shower cap you'll see below and sit under a dryer like the old ladies do. My hair was blasted with heat for about 10 minutes. Heat opens up hair cuticles which allows the color to soak in better. The dye was left for another 10 or 15 minutes to develop. Then, she washed my hair a couple of times, blow-dried it, and we were done! Below are some pictures of my visit and, of course, a few to show off my brand new hair color!

Shout out to my mom for being my salon photographer :)

Saying goodbye to the brown ombre for a little while

Have you ever thought of dying your hair a crazy color?

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I'm going to be sharing something different with you today. This has been on my heart for quite some time, and I thought that this might be a good place to get these thoughts out. In my Mantras and Resolutions post, I shared that I wanted to live out this verse from Hebrews 11:10. This verse is about Abraham and how he left his home country in faith that the Lord would provide a good life for him. One thing that I always found interesting is that his wife, Sarah, did not always have this faith. She went with him, of course, but she didn't fully trust in the promises of the Lord. The best example of that being in Genesis 18 when angels came to visit Abraham to tell him that in the next year he would become a father by Sarah. She was eavesdropping on this conversation and couldn't help but laugh at the notion that she would give birth in the next year. You see, she was pushing 90 and Abraham was 100. They were well past their child-bearing years, and they had given up on the idea of an heir long ago. Just as promised within the year, she gave birth to their son Isaac. When she did, she said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). I think these are 2 very different kinds of laughter, and I want to talk about that a little bit today.

Personally, I have been living in the first kind of laughter for a long time. This is a laughter that does not believe that the Lord is going to give you what He has said He would. He has promised that "all things will work together for good," but I struggle with my personal expectations of what will be good for me (Romans 8:28). I get stuck in a place where things are only good if they are working out how I believe they are supposed to. What I should be doing is stepping back and finding the good in where the Lord has led me to today (That is one of the main reasons I did the 100 Happy Days challenge). Instead, I am trying to find my way into my dream job, in my dream city, and with a dream man. I'm not saying that we aren't meant to work for what we get in life (as shown in the Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30). What I am saying is that we can't get so stuck in our vision for our future that we kick God out of the planning process completely. He has better ideas than I could ever dream up, and I just need to let Him take the time to build that life for me. He is the best designer that you could ever find. Just hand over the blueprint, and let Him work.

That is where the second kind of laughter comes in. It is a deep joy that comes from realizing what has been provided for you. I definitely have my moments of this kind of laughter. I couldn't ask for a more loving, supportive family or a better group of friends. I've really been led to a lot of beautiful people who I couldn't be more thankful to know. It is so important to try to look outside the future-focused bubble that people my age tend to live in and really appreciate what is around you right now. Psalm 92: 4 says, "For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done." I want to let God show me what is good because I know that He will make me glad. I want to live in the city He is building for me. When people see what He has done, they will surely be happy too.

So, are you laughing?

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Back in February, I embarked on a little project called the 100 Happy Days Challenge. Here is the first post I did about it where I talked a lot about why I was starting it. I don't want to regurgitate that too much, so the gist is that I wanted to keep living my new mantra of "Bloom where ever you are planted" and take a lot more pictures of my life. To be completely honest, I hit the sophomore slump so hard last fall semester. The newness of college wore off, classes were harder, and I just wasn't as happy as I used to be. I had seen someone on Instagram doing this, and I wanted to know more. I went to the 100 Happy Days website, and they had me convinced. I figured it couldn't hurt to try it, and my only worry was how annoyed people were going to get with me on social media. I couldn't be more thankful that I did give this a go because I am genuinely a more content human being than I was 100 days ago (I am writing this on my 100th day, I promise). This challenge really does open your eyes to the little things in life that can bring you a lot of joy. Every day has definitely not been easy. Whether I found myself emotionally devastated or unbelievably bored, looking for happy things has been harder on some days than others. Those turned out to be some of the most important days of this challenge for me. If you are finding yourself in a funk or you just want to learn how to count your blessings, I couldn't recommend this more. You don't have to do every day. You don't even have to share them with the world (100 Happy Days has an email address). I swear if you try this, you will not regret it.

I plan on bringing posts like these back in the future. To be honest, I just need a bit of a break. Taking pictures everyday can get a little stressful sometimes. Don't worry, I'll still be posting content on Wednesdays though. Now, it is time to share my LAST two pictures. I put day 100 first because it really captures the spirit of this post a bit more. I also wanted to share a few of the moments that I thought were most important below, so this post is definitely going to be picture heavy.

I have one question to ask before I stop rambling. Can you be happy 100 days in a row?