Sometimes life is shit. You're failing your classes, your friends don't have time for you and you can't do anything right at home. Before you know it you're hating on everything. Before you know it you're stuck with a negative mindset. Since I'm easily sucked into these downwards spirals of negativity, I decided to start a Happy Jar to remind me of all the good and fun things in my life. One year ago I put the first happy memories in it. Now, in 2017, I'm a bit stuck in my negative mindset. It's time to open my Happy Jar and snap out of it.


I first heard of Happy Jars when I'd only just started blogging. Coincidentally I got a jar of peanut butter that Christmas, so when all the peanut butter was gone it became my Peanut Butter Happy Jar. Since I've started anew in January of 2016, I've collected this heap of memories.
I fold them all into half, then into half again. That way I never know which memory I'm going to look at when I take one out. It's great to let a happy memory take you by surprise.
I write my happy memories in Dutch, which is actually quite weird for me since I usually write in English. Because of this switch in language it'd be pointless to share some pictures, but here are the translations of a few of my favorite memories.
10 January 2016: Had cheesecake. Nuff said
1 November 2016: Got my first paycheck ever!
4 January 2017: Talked to Shubhaish on Skype :D
I usually don't write more than a few words, a few lines at the very most. I don't need more than those few words for the memories to come rushing back to me. Because of this the scraps of paper in my Happy Jar are very small. The few pieces that are bigger are these.
Some quotes stick with me, though I'm not as much of a quote person as most other bloggers. Yet sometimes a few words motivate me to no end. When that happens I try to make them look fancy. Whereas the memories bring me happiness, the quotes give me motivation.
Since December I've also been adding pictures to the mix. Pictures capture moments better than my words ever could, which is why I started adding them to my Happy Jar.
Most of the pictures are selfies Jerneja and I took when we met up in Slovenia. I've also added a picture of my high school friend and me from when we went to see Bill Bailey in Amsterdam back in September. My happiest memories always have something to do with the people I care most about.
Then there's one last thing left in my Happy Jar. They're the most recent additions: tweets. That may sound silly to some of you, I know. But sometimes when someone tweets me a compliment or quotes my tweet, I just feel so happy and appreciated. It would make no sense to keep the tweets away from my Happy Jar. They make it so much more diverse and personal.

Once I've gone through all the items in my Happy Jar, I always find myself smiling. No matter how bad my day, my week or even my month is, the memories and pictures in the jar always make me happy again. A year from now I hope I can open my Happy Jar to many many more happy memories and share them with you guys again.