The Happiness Project. Day 9. Joe's Pizza

In my hometown of Paris, IL, there is a pizza place that makes the best pizza in the world! In my opinion (and many others). It's Joe's Pizza and eating this pizza makes me very happy. So I thought while I was at home, I should take advantage of the happiness-producing Joe's Pizza!

The Happiness Project. Day 8. Home.

I'm going home! I've waited weeks to finally say that! And today, I get to take that "home" post it off the wall and go to the place I was born and raised! Good old Paris!... Illinois.
If home is truly where the heart is, and I can say with all my heart that I love being home. I only get to stay for a couple of days, but they're going to be awesome days!

Keep it classy, keep it country!
Gretta Patrick<3

The Happiness Project. day 7. Camo.

Yes, I'm a country girl. Big surprise. And I happen to love camouflage. Seeing men in camo is my weakness (that's why I love it when my boyfriend wears it), and I think that wearing camo is like a little slice of home. It's no wonder I get in a good mindset when I put on some camo!

The Happiness Project. Day 6. Coffee.

Coffee, Cafe, whatever you call it, I can't live without it. Life is so much better when you have coffee in the morning, and when you get Starbucks gift cards, even better! So see how lots of coffee makes me happy!

The Happiness Project, Day 5. Me Time.

Sometimes, you just have to take a little time to yourself to stay sane. Today's mission was to do just that, so I carved out a little time of my busy day to take a little time to myself. It helps a lot! And it decreased my anxious tendencies.

The Happiness Project. Day 4. Big Hair

What is it about a big bump-it style that makes me so happy? Maybe it's the way it makes my face look, or the way it reminds me of the South. Whatever it is, it makes me so much happier when I take the time to bump up my hair. Therefore, I made sure to set aside a day where my hair would be big. Really, really big.

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. Also, just a heads up, I felt a little under the weather today, so I didn't get around to filming tomorrow's happiness project. The videos will resume on Tuesday though. Sorry about that!

The Happiness Project. Day 3. Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate, hot cocoa, whatever you call it, I had it. I had lots of it! In fact, I drank it until I was sick of it!
Chocolate is proven to make you happy, so how can you stay sad after this kind of day?

I also received a video from Sam, my sister, after I got out of my theatre practicum tonight. A video of my nephew telling me how much he wants to see me when I'm home on break, and that he wants to have a movie marathon. Well, buddy, I have a little surprise for you. I'm coming home next weekend!!! Hope you're ready for some awesomeness, because I'm coming to get you you little booger!

Keep it Classy, Keep it Country.
Gretta Patrick <3

The Happiness Project. Day 2. Eskimo Kisses!

Since we're basically all Eskimos here in Chiberia, I thought it would be appropriate for me to pick the very lighthearted Eskimo kisses post it off my wall of happiness this morning.

Before this happy plane got folded, my mood got lifted by some adorable nose-rubbing. I really wanted to go Eskimo kiss the big, blue wolf statues by Dumbach Hall, but unfortunately, by the time I finally got around to it, it was too dark out to film that particular scene. Plus, I had nobody to film it for me. The struggles.

Since I was lame and only obtained one human Eskimo kiss from my sister, Nellie, I thought I'd throw in a little something extra to remind all of you how to stay happy. The idea for this came from my older sister, Meg, and it's great advice. Watch and see what that advice is.

Comment below: What made YOU happy today?

The Happiness Project. Day 1

It's GLITTER!

Day one, I chose the glitter post it off the wall. Watch what happens when I surround myself with glitter.

Also, yes that is Christian Rock playing in the background as I get ready in the morning. It will always be playing in the mornings, because it's my happy music, and I always get ready in the mornings listening to my Mercyme Pandora station. If you don't like that, I don't really care. Deal with it. I can't help it, I just love Jesus.

So now that you know that glitter makes me happy, I want to know: Does glitter make you happy? 

The Happiness Project

Lately, I have had a terribly hard time being happy. I've been sad and depressed for a long time. I don't know what's been wrong with me, but it's a mixture of homesickness, weight gain, relationship troubles, stress, and just not being able to get over any of those things.

Needless to say, I'm sick of being sad. So, in a stroke of genius, I came up with this happiness project. It involves lots of post its, dancing, dogs, cats, snowmen, and so many other amazing things. The idea is that at the end of the happiness project, it will be impossible to be sad, because I'll have nothing but happiness around me... both literally and figuratiavely.

I hope you'll join me in this journey, and I'd appreciate it if you kept unnecessarily negative comments to a bare minimum (If I get any comments to begin with).

Tell me, what makes you happy?

What if I had never come to Loyola?

View from my Freshman year dorm

There's a life-changing question there. How would my life be different if I had gone somewhere else for my four-year degree.

Although I miss home terribly now, I probably wouldn't have gone to anywhere closer to home than I am now, because at age 18, I wanted to go as far away from Paris IL as I could.  I did strongly consider Indiana University.


Therefore, for the sake of argument, let's say I went to IU. What would be different about my life?

1. I wouldn't have joined Alpha Chi Omega, or at least, I wouldn't have the same group of sisters as I do now.
2. I would never have gotten into a mess with the Loyola theatre people, which prompted me to change my major
3. I may not have changed my major to journalism. 
4. I wouldn't be living in this nice apartment that I love. 
5. I wouldn't have gotten the job I have a White House Black Market. 
6. I wouldn't hate Chicago as much as I do now. 
7. I'd be able to go home a lot more than I do now. 
8. I'd have completely different friends. 
9. The paddles on my wall would be from different women. 
10. I'd never have found that perfect, red dress from that vintage shop off the Addison stop. 
11. I wouldn't have become Catholic (or at least it is very unlikely that I would have had the same access to the RCIA program)
12. I wouldn't be in a rough patch in my relationship.
13. I would never have met Kyle. 

The bottom line is, my life would be much different. Will I ever know what my life would have been if I had chosen IU over Loyola? No, and that's the thing about life: You never know what it's going to bring.

Take those last two examples, yeah if I were at IU, I probably wouldn't be stressing over my relationship right now. I wouldn't be in this rough patch after having dated the same guy for two years. My life would probably be easier right at this second because I wouldn't have so much on my mind. On the other end of that spectrum though, I would never have even met Kyle. So, the choice I made to come to Loyola has impacted my life at a higher level than just causing me stress.
Sometimes people aren't good at looking back and seeing the bigger picture in that way. We tend to live for the here and now, and if the here and now isn't good, we make rash decisions rather than thinking things out.

Life is a series of choices, and I made the choice to come to Loyola. Do I absolutely love it all the time? Well, no, but I do know a lot more about myself because of it. For example, I know that I would not have liked the world of musical theatre as I thought I would. I also know that I love to write and read teleprompters. I know that I prefer wide open spaces of the country to the confines of a city. At a larger school in the middle of nowhere, I would never have found these things out, because I never would have tried the alternative. I may wonder what life in the city would be like... but now I know. I think we can all agree that knowing is infinitely better than wondering.

Knowledge hides on the outside of one's comfort zone. The funny thing is, I didn't know what my comfort zone was until my Loyola experience. Now I know where I'd be comfortable: Anywhere but a city. I know I want to be closer to family, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with Kyle.

Although I know for sure I would be more comfortable at a different school closer to home, that doesn't mean I should be at such a school at the moment. That's life, you have to stick out the rough patches in order to get to the most awesome part of your life.

Keep it Classy, Keep it Country.
Gretta Patrick <3