#school year

Everyone always says, ‘get off the phone!’ Well guess what, I say don’t! Use that phone! Reach out to your friends! Whatever your favorite pass-time may be, bring your friends alone to share a good laugh! You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine.

The science behind this saying is actually truer than you may think. Laughter is one of the many ways to release endorphins, which are a kind of neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are like the body’s personal messengers, taking signals from one nerve to the next. Endorphins are one of your own personal little mood boosters, and they’re the body’s natural pain relief. Laughter really is the best medicine!

My next tip is music, music, music! Sure, you may think, “I already listen to music!” But you’re using you music to survive, just to get by. I’m telling you to use the music to feel alive! Find new songs and artists, go to concerts, have dance parties in your bedroom! Better yet, have dance parties on the sidewalk, or to the music playing on the grocery store radio! Let loose, really feel the music! Let yourself have fun— it’s life-changing,

I think another big thing is gonna be hobbies. Pick up old ones, find new ones, the works. The key to this, though, is not to let any perfectionist tendencies get in your way. Create without the pressure of it being great. Give yourself permission to make bad art, or preform a trick badly. Just get jiggy with it!

As I said before, the goal here isn’t to just get by. Sure, that may be where you’re at now, but no one wants to get through life with minimal joy. Being able to not only survive, but thrive, unlocks paths of joy and whimsy you’d never thought possible before, and it’s good to keep that in mind.