True Happiness

Imagine one of the worst days of your life. Not a day with something serious, like a day with a death or an illness, more like a falling into a puddle, getting a paper cut, losing a library book, walking into a pole, and starving without enough food kind of day. Yeah, that actually happened to me all in one day. I’m typically not superstitious, but that day, I was certain that I did something to upset some delicate balance of something.

The stubborn, cold winter weather continued to linger through that sunny, but chilly, spring afternoon. I was sulking over the amount of homework I got that Monday when I tripped over something and landed into a nice pool of thick, dark sludge. I now had two holes in my jeans, resulting in scrapes on both knees and on my stinging hand. I got off the bus, shuffled down the street, collected the mail, and went inside. I opened an envelope and in doing so, got a paper but. I had a long overdue book which I had renewed a countless number of times in hopes of coming across it again, which was a foolish hope. Unfortunately, the $25 would come out of my wallet.

After I had changed out of my torn jeans and finished my homework, I met up with some friends. While walking around, I turned my head to face and talk to someone when a cold, hard pole decided to appear out of nowhere. Of course this couldn’t end without forgetting to bring money for food. In order to have friends’ scraps, I somehow found myself in the position of a slave. Hoping that I could ho home and relax after the arduous day, I called my mom to ask when she could pick me up.

“Sorry Katie,” my mom replied in Korean. “I wont be able to pick you up for an hour”. My friends went home early so I sat down somewhere and did absolute nothing.

Exhausted from the events of the day, I fell back onto the couch to turn on the TV when my dog nuzzled my arm. I started petting her, but having to constantly do so irritated me so I stopped, which only led to her repeatedly prodding my arm.

“Angel, stop it!” I snapped. I tried to make eye contact, which is supposedly useful in reprimanding dogs, but it seemed to have no effect on her. Instead, she just kept smiling with a face that said either “pet me” or “let’s play!”

For some reason, even with everything that happened that day, my anger quickly melted away and I laughed at my earlier frustration. Clothes can be washed and wounds heal. The letter about the replacement fee coming on that day was just bad luck. My friends gave me some food and I had my coat on outside.

A simple smile; that’s all it took to make things seem alright again. She probably didn’t even know how much I needed something like that. I relaxed on that couch, changed the channel, and stated petting Angel.

I believe that it is the small things that make people happy. Big things, like parties, are fun but don’t occur too often. It’s the small things that get you through your routine everyday life. A while, fluffy dandelion in between the cracks of the sidewalk; a nice, cool breeze on a warm, sunny day; a big, tireless dog dragging its weary owner; and a really puffy, white, cotton candy cloud area all small things that make me smile or laugh. You’ll probably forget these small things within the hour, but I believe that it is those small things that can make a difference in you day, or you life.