Writing this many words about myself, my experiences and my decidedly regular life seems a little hedonistic, but this is required of me as a Happynesshub Hero (and it’s actually quite cathartic so I’ll do it anyway).

This week has been a busy one, between studio time, presentations, gigs, essay submission dates and work. Despite this, I find myself at my calmest, maybe because I appreciate moments of silence more, or maybe because of the recent change in my physical self. It’s been almost two weeks since I officially came off my medication, and a year since I became vegan! This was a decision I can only compare to a couple who have been together for long enough that getting engaged is the best thing to do. The next step. Vegetarianism and I had a good run, but I felt like taking it further, and I feel so much better having done it.

But before I begin singing the praises of cruelty free eating, I will side-step into the discussion of another change in lifestyle that has benefitted me in a short amount of time. Happynesshub has encouraged me to be as kind to myself as I like to think I am to others. Happynesshub has me writing down three positive things about my day every evening, and meditating, and appreciating flowers and being grateful for my loved ones and a plethora of other things that I assumed I was already doing.

Because I haven’t had much time to follow Happynesshub’s 21 day challenge, much of my day tomorrow will be spent catching up on things like de-cluttering my bedroom (I’ll be donating a hefty bag of clothes to a charity shop nearby) and writing letters of gratitude to three important people in my life. I’ve chosen my parents and my boyfriend, three people who have helped me enormous amounts over the last year. I may or may not post a picture of the letters (depending on how soppy they are) but I have noticed the positive effect of just drawing up a mental draft of what I’ll write. Merely thinking about everything these three people have done for me has made me feel more grateful that I have them in my life.