Joy can be found in the smallest things. Although I hate to admit it—primarily because it sounds like a quote woven on a tapestry found at HomeGoods.
This is simply an acknowledgment of random things I discovered this year and why they just make me so darn happy—no rhyme or reason behind it. And not to be dramatic, but I honestly cannot tell you what my freshman year would have looked like without these five things.
Dirty chai lattes
Coffee or Tea?
Tea or coffee?
Why choose?
Coffee and tea.
I also don’t know why I am currently writing a poem of dirty chai—an ode, if you will—but if I’m being honest, I could write a five-page paper on them. Single spaced.
I don’t drink a dirty chai every day. Only occasionally ordering the drink preserves their significance, so the sparkle remains single-handedly remedying a bad day. I may have 99 problems, 4 papers, 2 exams, 3 alarmingly approaching deadlines—but I’m sure a dirty chai latte will fix at least 25% of them.
Workout classes
Punching a bag over and over in a dark room with a Nirvana remix or peddling on a stationary bike in a dark room with a Nirvana mashup or doing downward dogs in a dark room with a Nirvana acoustic playing—something about it all has such healing and meditative properties. When I have an off day or need some type of pick me up, I book an outrageously priced workout class and sweat out every single penny.
Walks on the Georgetown waterfront
If you know me, you know I am a huge advocate for hot girl walks. Living in a dorm building, it’s hard to find time alone. Walking allows me to find time for myself and be in the moment. I don’t think about school or any friend drama, I just don’t think. You’d think the go-to spot would be along the monuments, but that just stresses me out due to all of the tourists and MAGA hats, so I opt for the waterfront.
The treasure is not the waterfront itself, but the nature trail just past it. I grew up in a very woodsy area, riddled with nature reserves. It all brings me back home, where I would frequently hike the nearby trails alongside the Hudson River as an outlet. Walking along the trail—no taxis or tourists, no scooters or students—the only things in sight are the Potomac on one side and trees on the other.
This blue faux fur bag from H&M
This bag is undoubtedly one of the top five purchases I have ever made. Whenever rolled out of bed and hobbled over to my 9 a.m. lab with my eyes half-shut; whenever I was sick and mustered up all my strength to go to Whole Foods to buy soup because that was all I could stomach; whenever I left Gelman Library at 11 p.m. after a gruesome study/crying session for stats—whenever everything seemed to have been going wrong, at least I had a cute bag.
Reading in the morning
Something I prioritized this year is having a routine—not too rigid, but structured enough to get s*** done. In the morning, I wake up, chug water from my Hydro Flask that fell on the floor overnight (major apologies to my downstairs neighbors), do my skincare routine, pop in my contacts, go to my desk, and read a book. I don’t have a specific time frame or page quota—I just read until it feels right.
I was never a big reader. Though I am embarrassed to admit this, I probably read one book for pleasure throughout my four years of high school. But this year, I started reading more and I truly enjoy it. In fact, I look forward to it every morning. Picking up a book and continuing the story feels symbolic of my own progression—intellectually, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
We don’t always need to look at the big picture. And we don’t need to break down the smallest details and analyze their meaning. We all do enough of both of those things in class.
What makes you truly happy lies in plain sight—like a seemingly mundane task that actually makes you excited to wake up in the morning or a physical article hanging in your closet. Realizing this granted me the ability to seek pleasure whenever I needed to in what I already had, instead of letting external cues or validation that I had no control over—from academic performances to superficial relationships—determine my happiness. Out of all the lectures and classes I attended this year, this was the most vital lesson I learned.