November 9th was my first childhood dog’s birthday. We celebrated by going to the pet store and all getting on the “pets only” scale with him when the employees weren’t looking.
November 9th - according to an old diary - was my first kiss. I was fourteen and by the looks of the diary entry, all kinds of awkward and adorable.
My childhood pup would pass away four years after we brought him home and my budding relationship would fizzle about four weeks after that kiss.
After that, November 9th would fade into obscurity. November 9th was just like any other day. Until it wasn’t.
On November 9th, 2011, I was 17-years-old and driving home from high school, down the same back country roads I had ridden on my entire life. It was unusually warm for November in Western Pennsylvania so the windows were down and the radio was up.
I can tell you the exact turn on the gravel-y road where I had the clearest thought I’ve ever had in my entire life:
“Day 1: Happiness is.. those perfect car rides where the radio just plays all the right songs.”
This thought was followed immediately by: “what was that? People don’t think like that?”
But the damage was done. Like every 17-year-old in 2011 who thinks they’re going to change the world with an idea, I went home, logged onto Facebook on the shared family computer, posted that status, logged out, and did my homework, promptly forgetting about the epiphany under a pile of unfinished calculus homework.
The rest is history. Every single day since then, I have posted a “Happiness is.” This small experiment in finding every day joy turned into The Smile Project, a certified nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading Happiness through acts of kindness. On the day of writing this (November 6 2019), I will post my 2,920th consecutive day of Happiness.
This also means it’s almost time to celebrate #JoyDay.
Every November 9th, we celebrate the past year of Happiness and kick off the upcoming year. It’s kind of like our New Year’s Eve.
Join us for #JoyDay2019 by sharing something that makes you happy with the hashtag #JoyDay2019. Tag The Smile Project on Facebook or Instagram (@thesmileprojectofficial) for the chance to win a “Choose Happiness shirt.”
Can’t wait until November 9th to celebrate? Visit The Smile Project Digital Notebook now? Search by day number, key word, or a specific date here.