There are many struggles that every high school student goes through, ranging from wondering who is going to ask you to the school dance to what college you are planning on going to. Thinking about major decisions all the time can lead teenagers to develop a sense of pessimism because instead of focusing on the positive side of things, they are so worried about whether or not their government quiz is going to be hard or if the English essay is going to be rhetorical or argumentative.

What I’m trying to get at is the idea that, maybe instead of being constantly worried about things that won’t matter in five years, we should wake up in the morning and appreciate all of the little things going right, even if there is a multitude of things that are going wrong.

It’s OK to feel down about things that are going wrong in your life, because it’s perfectly OK to admit that you’re not OK. This ideal is not about smiling even though your best friend is moving or your parents are divorcing, it is about finding happiness in the little things in life.

We can all agree that waking up in the morning is not the most desirable activity. Most of us would rather sleep for two or three hours more. If you’re one of those people who presses snooze and rolls back over onto your pillow, be happy that you have a snooze button. When you get to school and someone you barely know says hi or smiles at you, that’s something to be happy about. When your favorite song comes on your iPod during the day, that’s something to be happy about. When the girl sitting next to you in math offers you a piece of gum, that’s something to be happy about. When the final bell rings and you’re finally allowed to go home, that’s something to be happy about.

These are examples that might not apply to everyone, of course, but you get the idea. We, as humans cannot live in a constant state of waiting for something amazing to happen to us because life is not like the movies. You’re not always going to win the state championship, or have your crush like you back, or win Prom Queen. We can, however, live in a state of appreciating and finding happiness in all of the little things that we generally overlook.