November 9, 2023.
Age 29
Day 4384:
Happiness is.. the way we sometimes have no idea. The other day, I was looking back at every November 9th ‘Happiness is.’ I wanted to see the early Joy Days before we called it an official holiday or celebration. My first year, my first Happiness, the one that started it all was simple and unassuming. It’s the weather and the radio and the taste of freedom that is driving home from high school at age 17. But it’s the second November 9th that caught my attention. I assumed it would be some big celebration post about 365 days of Happiness or what it means to do something consistently for a year. Instead, my second November 9th was ‘rock climbing.’ I realized that even a year in, even on a special anniversary, I had no idea. I had no idea how much this would continue to change my life through my late teens and twenties. Had no idea I’d see 12 full years of daily joy. Had no idea I’d grow this simple thought into a movement into a nonprofit into a way of life. Had no idea how much joy there is in the world. I sometimes think about those early weeks of The Smile Project, sure I had covered all the Happiness 13 days in. And yet. Today, I picked up my thirteenth notebook. I wrote Day 4384. And I reveled in the fact that there is surely so much more joy to uncover. Thank you for helping me find it, for helping me hold it near. #JoyDay2023
