“When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they told me to write down what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

I absolutely love this quote, 1) because it comes from my favorite writer and musician, John Winston (Ono) Lennon and, 2) the simplicity of its message.

I’ve been seeing a lot of #100daysofhappy hashtags along with photos and updates on social media. I love photos, I’m a social media nerd & it looks like fun so I’ve decided to start documenting my #100daysofhappy tomorrow.

#100daysofhappy

Why take part in this? Why not?! I appreciate life, small moments as well as the big ones, and do my best to never take a single day for granted. I’d like to think I’m not alone in those thoughts but recognize some days are much harder to appreciate than others. Your job sucks, your kid is being unbearable; maybe you had a fight with your girlfriend or BFF. Regardless of the bullshit, there’s always something good that can be pulled out of each day – you just have to make the effort to see it. Maybe one of my moments will be an uplifter for someone out there who’s having one of those rough days. Or a simple reminder to all to try and find something memorable and wonderful about each day.

It’s like the movie, “500 Days of Summer”. Did you see it? If not, you should. This quirky flick pairs one of my fave actors, Joseph Gordon Levitt, with the always adorbs Zooey Deschanel, and follows them through 500 days of their relationship. Not a typical couple, not a typical movie romance; just very honest, very real. Although – spoiler alert – much of the latter half of its 500 days are pretty rough for Mr. JGL, I think the movie had a similar message to mine in that every day matters and should be appreciated and remembered, no matter what.

So for the next 100 days, I’ve committed to taking at least one photo to represent my #100daysofhappy. Some I’ll share, others I won’t – I realize not everyone cares to see another photo of my dog or beer I’m enjoying on a patio. On days I don’t share a photo, I’ll share a moment of some sorts (barring a situation that places me in the middle of nowhere with no internet service).

Feel free to follow my #100daysofhappy on Twitter & Instagram. Better yet? Start your own commitment to find happiness in each day for the next 100. Then, comment or tweet me your Twitter/Instagram handles @runlikeagirl311 so I can follow yours.