the things i used to do that i think made me happier.

Goal: Feel like this again. Me, circa 2011.

+ Listen to music. Kate Nash, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Joshua Radin, etc.

+ Read books. For fun.

+ Write in a journal.

+ Paint my nails.

+ Drink tea and coffee and lattes. A lot of tea and coffee and lattes.

+ Stay up late.

+ Nap. Whenever possible.

+ Spend hours reading blogs, talking to friends, doing nothing and enjoying it.

I haven't been happy as happy as I used to be* in a long, long time. We're talking two years long time. And I haven't kept that a secret (see here and here). So I started thinking about why. What did I used to do that made me happy? And I came up with the list above.

Now, I still listen to music and read and paint my nails and hang out with friends and drink coffee, but not nearly as much as I used to. What the heck am I doing with my time? I don't know. Maybe this is just what life is now that I'm not a university student. Welcome to real life, Amanda. 

And while I'm okay with "real life" most of the time, and wouldn't trade not having time to nap for having to write papers, I am not okay with feeling the way I feel right now: blah. Because I do not think "real life" should be blah.

So! Here's to more naps! More music! More nail polish! More coffee! More more more! (For real though, I'm committing myself to try and do more of the things that used to make me happy, as trivial as they may seem.)

*Perhaps I wasn't actually happier, and it's just that golden effect that makes the past seem better than it was.