Learn to look at the bottle of hand sanitizer half-full, not half-empty

It’s weird to think that the beginning of the pandemic that has shifted all our lives was around a year ago. We are all well aware that the pandemic has brought a lot of harm to our daily lives, especially our mental well being. The isolation and inability to do what once seemed like normal activities has taken a toll on everyone’s happiness. The end of masks, social distancing and Zoom classes seems like a distant future, but I realized that focusing on the negative aspects of quarantine would not make the pandemic end any sooner. So, if the pandemic has taught me anything, it is to stay positive. 

I remember in April, after a month of being locked in my house, I walked downstairs to my parents with tears in my eyes. I told them that this feels never ending and that it felt that I will never live a normal day in my life again. My dad told me that right now, COVID-19 seems like our whole world. It is all anyone ever talks about and all that the news is reporting on. But, he said, in reality, this pandemic and quarantine specifically is going to be such a small part of my life.

He was not downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic whatsoever, but merely pointing out that in my hopefully long life, this pandemic will be such a small part of it. Focusing on the pandemic in the grand scheme of things definitely helped me remain hopeful. But, it wasn’t until I realized I wouldn’t have a normal senior year that I became again hopeless. 

While sulking about my last year of high school being stripped away from me, I realized that my disappointment would not make my year normal. The situation we are in is sucky, but it is out of my control. What is in my control, however, is how I view the pandemic and make the best out of the situation I am. This inspired me to look for the good in each day. I decided that focusing on the positive aspects of each day would remind me that even in times of uncertainty, the little things that bring me joy are always still there. I realized that more people could benefit from this way of thinking because we all need a reminder that it’s just a bad day, not a bad life. This inspired me to create an Instagram account, @averysgoodineachday, where I would post one thing every day that made me happy. My hope was that by sharing the positive aspects of my day, I would remind people to do the same and to emphasize that there is still good in the world, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

By forcing myself to find one thing each day that makes me smile, I am reminding myself that there is still good in this pandemic filled, politically divided world, even if it takes some searching to find it.