Happiness is a mood, not a destination.

Lately I've been feeling like someone put my life on pause. The three things that I want right now are three things I can't seem to get just yet. I want to be in school. I want to have a full-time job. I want to be a mother. I am actively trying my best to accomplish all three of those, and it seems I am just playing the waiting game on all three. The waiting is making me frustrated, and unhappy. I am a happy person by nature, so I really dislike being unhappy.

Patience is not something I would say I have a lot of. In the middle of a frustrated breakdown that I didn't have the three things I want (and think will make me happy) right now, I remembered a quote from One Tree Hill (go ahead and laugh at me). Here it is:

"So I've been thinking about this whole 'being happy' thing...and I feel like people get lost when they think of happiness as a destination. We're always thinking that someday we'll be happy. You know, we'll get that car or that job or that person in our lives that'll fix everything. But happiness is a mood, and it's a condition, not a destination. It's like being tired or hungry. It's not permanent. It comes and goes, and that's okay. And I feel like if people thought of it that way, they'd find happiness a lot more often."

That really struck me. Here I am thinking that I can't be completely happy or fulfilled without being in school, or working full-time, or without kids. How wrong was I?! I have a wonderful life. I have a wonderful marriage with an amazing man who also happens to be my best friend. I have a great support system of family and friends. Jason and I finally live on our own. We have two adorable cats. We have two cars and a motorcycle. We have clothes on our back, a roof over our heads, and food in the refrigerator. We have good health. Jason has a steady job. I have been blessed with part-time babysitting jobs. So what if I know over 15 people who are pregnant right now and I'm not one of them? So what if everyone else has a full-time job and I can't find one? So what if people way younger than me have college degrees and I don't?

I'm done being unhappy. That doesn't mean that I won't feel frustrated or stressed from time to time. It's even okay to feel sad. I just need to constantly remind myself of all the good things I do have in my life, instead of focusing on what I don't have. Life is what you make it, and it's time for me to start making mine even better. I may not find happiness all day every day, but I can find it every day if I just look for it.

Choose to be happy today. I did :)