No matter how positive you tend to be, life can still beat you down.

I can go the rest of my life without having to review this past month, but we’re all human, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.

Making assumptions about what people expect from me is one of my faults. This causes me to sacrifice almost everything of myself in order to make sure others are happy and perceive me as “The Best”. I know it stems from my days in elementary school, but that’s a story for another day. What I will say is kids can be so fucken cruel.

The amount of bullshit I had to deal with in July finally took its toll and I said FUCK IT! Who cares about everyone else?! Stop worrying about others and worry about yourself! It’s okay to be selfish!

If they can’t help you – cut them off.

If they take advantage of you – cut them off.

If they don’t support you – cut them off.

Then I went to a party celebrating my friend’s 50th birthday and it all kind of turned off.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Tina Flood is one of the kindest souls I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming in contact with. I am privileged to call her my friend and the positive energy she emits – no matter what the situation – is infectious. She is the owner of Tina’s Therapeutic Touch Massage Services in Berks County and during the pandemic, her business was closed. Tina had no idea when the business would be allowed to open again, if ever, but that didn’t bring her down.

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she baked.

During the height of the pandemic, I was surprised to get a call from Tina telling me she was leaving me goodies on my doorstep. Sure enough, a plate of homemade cookies was waiting for me and it was without question the best part of the pandemic for me.

Tina’s goal was to spread happiness across town and make sure all of her loved ones were smiling, if even for just a few moments. She knew that smiling would help alleviate whatever stress or frustration they were feeling, and let’s face it, who doesn’t like cookies?!

But that’s who she is, an unapologetic ball of happy! There is no other way to describe it, and it was on full display this past weekend. I felt lucky to be in the presence of not only the birthday girl but her family and friends.

They were all happy and carefree!

When you surround yourself with negativity, that’s all your mind concentrates on. The bad things in your life take center stage and you can’t seem to break out of the funk. We’re all guilty of it, and it’s okay, shit happens. But eventually you need to realize it’s happening and break out of it. When you’re in a constant state of negativity, your body will react the same way. Rundown, tired, irritable, snippy, you get the idea. But the opposite is true as well.

Having positivity around you will make you feel like a million bucks! Going to Tina’s birthday party was my moment of clarity and I began to feel the smile form on my face. I sat there with Jill and great friends and all we spoke about were happy and fun moments we experienced recently, and hope to have in the future.

I watched as Tina and her family danced, laughed, took silly photos of themselves, ate delicious food, drank (maybe way too much) and just straight up enjoyed the lives they were living. They had no care in the world for those few hours – and it was envious!

We’re here for a very small amount of time and to waste it on things, events, or even people that DO NOT put a smile on your face is simply foolish. Happiness is what you define it to be, and when you achieve that on a daily basis, you’re richer than you think.

Thanks Tina.