Anne Frank once said, “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy”. Sometimes, being happy doesn’t come easily, especially with the obstacles that life likes to put in front of us. When I feel sad, reflecting back on the pleasing and buoyant moments in life lift my mood and brightens my day, and I think of times with my friends, family, and teammates as the fondest memories.
The deafening music thumping loud in my ears got my blood pumping. The ferocious roar of the crowd startled me, and I was nearly knocked down by my sheer excitement. I felt everything. The bass trembled up through my legs and into my heart, into my head, making the moment so surreal, I had to take a moment and absorb it all. There was my best friend to my right and a stranger to my left, but it didn’t matter, I danced with both of them. Jumping around, screaming, arms waving, singing the lyrics to every song, I was happy.
My family sat together, gathered around the dining room table. Their laughter made my heart swell, and their contentment made me realized that I truly did love them and they truly loved me, despite all of our fighting. Jokes were tossed around the room, reverberating off the walls and coming back to take the breath out of our lungs from laughing too hard. I sat there at the head of the table, and looked all around me and I smiled. The cake came out and was placed in front of me. Singing, candles burning, stomachs aching from being too full, I was happy.          
The silence sliced through the air around me as the spectators sat on the sidelines, their hands gripped tight to their chairs. They watched my every move; they saw every emotion that was displayed on my face. The excitement, the fear, the nerves; it was all there. With the ball placed on the white line, I stepped back and look the goalie straight in the eye. It seemed as if with every passing second, the goal would shrink and move back a couple more feet. Kicking the ball, hearing the famous “swish” of a ball meeting net, I cheered along with all of my teammates and onlookers. The score was then 2-1, and the scoreboard showed the time remaining to be nonexistent. Cheering, the waves of relief washing over me like a monsoon, tight arms of my teammates encircling me, encouragements and congratulations spewing from mouths all around, I was happy.
I was sitting at my desk in my room, and the tears were flowing due to my jam-packed mind. Papers were scattered all around me, the words written on them jumbled up into my futile attempts to understand anything. My breath was short, and cheeks were wet. I was stressed, worn out, and tired. I wanted to understand and I wanted to succeed. I was sick of staring at the same old pages, which were now stained with tears. As I sat back from my abortive efforts, I wasn’t happy.
                        But then, I realized something. Tossing bad days and unfortunate events every which way, life has a way of taking unhappy and doleful moments and emphasizing them to a point where they are the only things that are focused on. After taking the bad things, or at least what seems bad at the moment, in my life and adding them up, I realize that they do not amount to the joyous moments, the happy times that keep you somewhat sane in this unbalanced world. The important thing in life is to enjoy it and be happy. Looking back on the jubilant times makes all the bad times worth it because, as cliche as it sounds, you can’t have a rainbow without the rain. And, guess what? I am happy, always have been, always will be.