The Happiness Project: February

Hello!!! This month's update is going to look a little bit different than January's because it's something that was harder to put on paper because its focus is on connections with people as opposed to actions and habits that can be tracked. I honestly didn't do a great job tracking or journaling about my happiness this month, so I'm going to just give a little overview on what I've learned about friendships and relationships in this past month. ​

This month I've made a lot of connections with new people and I've been a lot more outgoing. I started to branch out in my friendships and its been pretty awesome. I've met friends of friends and developed relationships with them. I've formed new relationships with people in school and have tried to be a little more present in class (aka not on my phone as much) and talk to the people around me. I also recently went to an event with the brand Willows and Palms (check them out, they're amazing and I can't stop sharing them with everyone!!) It was a little get-together of girls to just talk about life and what we do and what we love. I went into it knowing exactly one person there, and I came out of it with ideas for future collaborations and with so much inspiring girl power energy (is that a thing? Let's make it a thing.)!! It was awesome for me because going to an event like that without a friend by my side would have usually terrified me, but I was crazy proud of myself for just going in there and walking up to people and saying, "Hi!!! I'm Anna! Who are you?!" 

Along with all my new friends, I learned a lot about previous relationships and friendships I've had. I made a few mistakes in some of my friendships this month, but I realized that it was just me being bitter. I learned to apologize and I learned how to act in the future and to not be so uptight about what others are doing. I also realized that it's okay to not have "a group." I've been in several groups throughout high school, but I recently learned that being able to label and associate yourself fully with one group isn't all that important. Instead I'm working on just being friends with the people I like and bouncing around to different friendships without having my identity tied down to one group. I've been a whole lot happier after realizing that it doesn't really matter "what" (the group), but "who" (the actual people). P.S. I'm not trying to throw shade to people in groups, especially not the ones I've been in/am sort of in now. Just an observation that provided comfort to me that I hope can help others as well.

So that's a little bit about how the month went, but I also want to share some of the things I've been doing to put more effort into my relationships. I like lists so we're gonna hit a few bullet points:

• Make them a priority, and SHOW them that they are by putting in your best efforts to hang out/text/call them.
• Do little things for people. Send someone an encouraging text, ask people if they're okay, ask them their opinion on something, make them a playlist, send them a list of things you love about them (Cheesy? Possibly. A 100% success rate for putting them in a better mood? No doubt about it.),  make a surprise visit to see someone, tell them how proud you are to know them, etc.
• Make time for them. Sometimes it's okay to pause your homework to ask someone how their day was. Show them that you care about them enough to put aside some of the other things you have to do and let them know they're loved.
• Try and balance all your relationships. It can be tough when there's a million people in your life, but make sure you're attempting to put equal love and care into all of the people in your life.
• Remember that you have control over who is in your life. Surround yourself with the people that make you feel good and fired up about life. I have never been so happy with the people I have in my life than I am right now. I feel so balanced and content with all the friendships and relationships that I'm currently in.

To connect it back to the happiness project, I can honestly say that the people I'm choosing to surround myself with have made me such a better and happier person. I'm always motivated to be the best I can be, and I'm realizing what a tremendous impact the people in your life have on your happiness. I've been surrounded by so many positive and loving people lately and to say I'm thriving is a ridiculous understatement. I'm finding it so easy to be grateful for all the people in my life because they just fill me with so much joy. I know that there's usually a push to be independent, and I know there's a time and place for that, but life is honestly better when you're going through it with people who make you love life. It's in our nature to want to make meaningful and powerful connections in our community, so I encourage you to reach out and make the most of all your relationships and to pour love and effort into the ones that make your days brighter!! What a good start to the first part of this year!!!