My Summer

9 Ways to be Happy and Make Something of your Life 

Gordon B. Hickley

1. There are many ways to make your life happy, one way is being grateful. To be grateful is to show appreciation for everything you have and will receive in life. Be grateful of your family, your friends, your teachers etc. Showing others that you are grateful reflects a positive attitude. You are humble of the things you have in life and with those things you take pride into everything. Being ungrateful is the complete opposite of being grateful, being ungrateful you are very judgmental of the things people give you and you ask for more than what is expected because you feel better than everyone else. This reflects a very negative attitude towards people, most people will tend to avoid and stay away from ungrateful people. One way to show others that you are grateful is telling the people you care about that you are grateful for their friendship with you. "When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive to breathe to think. to joy. to love." Marcus Aurelius 
2. It is important to always be smart because being smart gives you an opportunity to greater and successful things in the world. Being smart allows you to connect with other on ideas and opinions, you are able to see different aspects. Being smart also allows you connect with yourself and you are able to open your mind to more learning. Learning becomes a part of you that is key and necessary. One new way I can apply this to my daily life is by reading or studying something new everyday. "You know what last longer than beauty? Being smart." . 
3. Getting involved is a very key component on how to better your life, getting involved in what you do and in the things around you shape your character. When you get involved out of the goodness of your heart you extend you values farther, you connect with the people around you and in yourself as well. By getting involved you make yourself aware of certain things whether they be good or bad, you're always one to know and it allows you to fix the problem if there lays one. It is important to get involved because in many cases people don't truly understand the people around them because they rather stay indoors and only worry about themselves. "Being involved in the well-being and advancement of one's own community is a most natural thing to do." I can apply this to my daily life by getting information of places that I can volunteer and dedicate some of my free time and get involved. 
4. With all important things in life one thing that is big is being clean, being clean not only means with your hygiene but with your language. No one likes to be around a dirty person, someone who stinks and who always carrying a bad scent around. It's not healthy to be dirty because you are prone to always being ill and even spreading sickness, it is healthy to always be clean because your always fit and keeping your immune system in check. Also, be clean with your language, no one likes an ill-mouthed person who curses left and right like a sailor, be polite and well mannered with your language to set a positive message. "Being green and clean is not just an aspiration but an action." Christine Pelosi, one way I will apply this to my daily life is by always washing my practice clothes and disinfecting my locker every week. 
5. In order to live a good life it is important to be true, not only to yourself but to anyone and anything you do. Being true makes your character better and it creates more value for yourself. When you are true to yourself and anyone you make it easy for people to trust you, you become a dependable person that when people think of you they can have faith that they can trust you with anything and that it will be done. When you are not true to yourself it only hurts your character, you become someone that cannot be trusted and depended on. You will always thought of as a liar and a cheater because you are never true to yourself. So it is important to always be true to yourself. One way to be true to yourself is never cheat, never think that by cheating you won't get caught or face consequences because when doing wrong and not being true comes great consequences, so instead be true to yourself and face the problems on your own. "Being true to yourself is better than being a liar just to impress everyone." I will always be true to myself and choosing to do good in life.
6. Be positive and stay true to yourself. Staying positive is so important for your mental and physical health. When you let negative thoughts remain in your mind, they overwhelm both your brain and your body. Stay positive through it all and you will become a better and happier person who can help anyone who thinks negatively, too. Positivity attracts other positive people and situations. If you are open and try your best to look on the bright side, people will enjoy your company. You will make more friends, which can lead the way to more opportunities in life. You will also be ready when new situations present themselves, whereas if you are letting yourself dwell in the negative you might reject something that could change your life for the better. Be open and look at the good. One way I was positive was during a math test that I was so sure I was going to fail, I continued to tell myself to stay positive and I ended up passing the test.  "Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results."
7. It is important to be humble because being humble allows you to stay true to yourself and you never feel better than anyone, you stay on the correct track without getting ahead of yourself. When you are humble to don't rub your good things at other people to bring them down and you are always thankful of the things you accomplish. When you are humble you are more likely to have more friends and have good connections with people. One way I have been humble is when I play football, I never act or say I am better than anyone even when I score touchdowns, instead of celebrating I politely give the ball to the referee and go to the sideline. "Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy" Norman Vincent Peale. 
8. It is important to be still because when you are still you are at one with yourself, you are able to control her life the way you want and you are able to. You understand where you are in life and where you want to be in the future, being still is good because you never get you ahead of yourself. I have been still to myself where I pause for a moment and just think about my life and I start to settle down my goals to better myself. "So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing," T. S. Eliot. 
9. Be Prayful

Final Reflection

After going through the journey of understanding the 9 ways to be happy and make something out my life I strongly believe that they are positive areas that can make my life better. I feel that these 9 ways will guide me towards a better life and a more positive life, where I can be a great influence to myself and a greater influence to the people around me. They are aspects that we can add to our life for the wellness of spreading a right attitude.