Welcome to the first Festive Friday! I blog primarily about holidays, and while I love celebrating national holidays, I want my blog to really capture the motivation behind these celebrations. Festive Fridays are a way to remind each other of the beauty of life. There is always a reason to smile or laugh, and that’s what this blog is about- enjoying the life around us on our path towards greatness. We all have goals, and often in our pursuit of these aspirations, we forget to appreciate the pink Magnolia trees on our walk to school or work, the perfect grilled cheese full of butter and melted cheese that’s stringy when you pull the two halves apart, and the kind words from a friend or a smile from a stranger. We live in a world in which we can both achieve our future goals and enjoy the present day. And if we find something to celebrate each day, we will love ourselves and the world around us more. So, with that being said, Festive Fridays are a new component of my blog to share a story or insight about how to recognize the beauty in our lives and why it is important to do so.
When I was in high school, I ran cross country and track. For those of you who know me now at Princeton, perhaps you’re laughing, thinking that this must be a joke; but it’s true! I am a runner. Now, the run that I embarked on the other day, in which I stopped after maybe a mile or so, would say otherwise, so maybe I should say I was a runner. Either way, there was once a time when I would stand on the starting line among my teammates with that feeling of fear and excitement occupying my mind, waiting for the gun to go off and the race to begin.
I was about to step forward towards the starting line. This was four and a half years ago: my freshman year. Our two captains at the time pulled me back.
“Wait!” They said.
And then they both stood there- on the grass of the golf course, in front of all the other teams- and smiled up at the sky. A few of the older girls on the team followed as I curiously watched, attempting to understand the logic behind this odd practice. I joined in anyway, and afterwards, seeing my perplexed expression, one of the captains explained:
“They say that if you smile at the sky you perform better. Like, racing, and other things too. It’s a cross country tradition.”
And so, ever since then, I smiled up at the sky before every race. Did I race better because of it? Maybe not- my times stayed pretty consistent. But I definitely felt better during the race because of it. Instead of focusing on the pain, I centered in on things that made me smile- a father and son golfing together, the vibrant red, orange, and yellow leaves that were beginning to takeover the trees, and the feeling I would have, in just a little over twenty minutes, of pure happiness, pride, and self-worth as I would cross the finish line. Oh, and of course I was thinking about the spread of donuts, brownies, and hot pretzels that my teammates and I would all eat afterwards at the clubhouse. Now, this isn’t to say that my pain disappeared nor that I necessarily enjoyed running the 5k, but by focusing on the positive and maintaining the smile from the start of the race, the entire experience felt worth it. It felt meaningful.
My Festive Friday advice is simply to smile more often. Even when you’re not having the best day- maybe you got a test back and you didn’t get the grade you wanted or you just feel a bit off, and perhaps allergies are getting to you- try smiling. And there are so many reasons in life to smile. Take a moment to look around you, right now, wherever you are. Find something in your surroundings that brings a smile to your face- maybe it’s a fluffy dog, a photograph, or a flash of your favorite color. Then look inside of you- think about the qualities of yourself that you are proud of, the memories you hold of special moments with friends and family, and times when you felt truly happy. And if you go through this process of absorbing both the external and internal- observing what is around and inside- you will surely find something to smile about.
So smile today and everyday- embrace your positive energy and spread it among others! Happy Festive Friday <3