Lately, I noticed that I have been feeling down. I am focusing more on the negative things or when something goes wrong, or not the way I wanted it to go. Consequently, I get bad mood and feel like I am moping around all day. And I absolutely hate feeling this way. While traveling, I always get to look at things from a different perspective. Over this trip, I was reminded how thankful I should be for the life that I have. I live in a wonderful country where there is a freedom of speech. I live in a safe place with a roof over my head. I am fortunate to receive education at a wonderful university. I am surrounded by supportive family and friends. And this list goes on and on... Then what's the reason for me to be moping around? It hit me that I should take all this negativity and try to change things around. Thinking this over, I remembered how one of my favorite professors at UVA said that we are in charge of our attitude and emotions. No one can make us feel mad, angry, sad etc because we are in charge of how we feel and our attitude toward things. This is so true! Instead of focusing on things that don't go the way I want them to go, I realized how important it is for me to focus on all the blessings that are in my life. I really needed this reminder so I thought I would share this with all of you if anyone is going through a hard time and needed a little boost of motivation. I am challenging myself to write down at least 5 things everyday that I am thankful for and that make me happy. I know that this isn't a new technique and I definitely didn't come up with it myself. I don't remember who but one of my friends shared that with me a while ago and I am going to try doing that everyday. The goal is to focus on the positive and hopefully that will eliminate all the negative :)