The Happy Menu (2022)
I used to keep a Happy Menu — an itemized list from the smallest to the grandest things that make me, by any definition, happy. I tried to update it as much as I can but seems like I fell off the wagon there for a few years now.
I decided to revive this list now as a desperate attempt to force myself to remember the little, almost unnoticeable things that make everyday worth looking forward to. Right now I could easily enumerate a million depressing, paralyzing, slit-my-throat, slash-my-wrist cruel realities going on but I opted to approach this differently, more positively, and maybe somehow uplift me in the process.
How other people see and treat us are beyond our control but how we treat ourselves is entirely up to us. No matter how much passively cruel actions and empty affections are thrown at us, at least I have this little database I can call mine to help me get excited again about each day— my safe space, my happy place.
What to See:
1. To All The Boys
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Modern Family
4. Star Wars
5. The Little Prince
6. Pablo Neruda
7. Live Theater Shows
8. BTS (?!)
What to Eat:
1. Cold Brew
2. Cold Beer
3. Potato Fries
4. Breakfast
5. Japanese Food
6. Kombucha
Where to Go:
1. My parents’ room
2. BGC
3. Church
4. Shores
5. Quiet bars
6. Hotel rooms
7. Indie cafe
8. Fancy Restaurants
Other Things:
1. Spontaneous drives
2. Unplanned date nights
3. 1km treadmill run
4. Facetime with Ate
5. Spreadsheet formatting
6. Online shopping
7. Medium.com
8. Travel planning
9. Early mornings
