You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. That's what Happiness is... That's also where I stole the name and theme of this one from...


It's all in the little stuff.

I realized this morning walking out of my college classes (on the way back to my high school ones) that today was a good day. By the time I got back to high school, I had enough reasons for today to be regarded as excellent to begin a list so I didn't forget them all.

And so it began.


So...

Waking up, I realized I could barely move my legs. That's 'cause I went back to TaeKwonDo for the first time in about a year and am in excrutiating muscle pain.
Happiness is: Aaron being "evil" and loving it.

I made tea for breakfast. I'm not hard to please, I admit.
Happiness is: Chai tea with milk.

I get to SU, English 102. Mrs. Zak basically told us that a third of the class is failing. That scared me, 'cause English is hard. Especially college English, as a high school student... So (that's not the good part. This is.) when she finished explaining how terrible we all were, she read two papers she thought were excellent. Mine was one of them. That's when I realized I was "that guy." The one with the always perfect paper... Yep.
Happiness is: being "that guy."

And then my second class - SU again - Philosophy 101. Discussion of the first line of Godspell... Technically it's Platonic Socrates, but it's really Godspell...
Happiness is: Schwartz and Socrates.

Turned in my philosophy paper early, so I don't have to worry about that tonight or tomorrow...
Happiness is: being ahead of the ball.

And leaving campus, saw lots of eye candy. Good looking folks at 10:45 on Tuesday morning in Red Square... Gotta hang out there more often.
Happiness is: good looking girls.

And then I got in my car and turned on RENT. Really loud.
Happiness is: well, RENT. Really loud.

And then (mind you, I still haven't left the parking lot), I made some girl's day when I gave up my parking place leaving. She was so excited.
Happiness is: giving without wanting anything in return.

Okay, so I got to Bennett. Already an excellent day. And I show up in AP Euro, and you know what we're doing? We're making fun of the Pope! Best thing ever! 'Cause, well, he's a Nazi... Then we had a deep theological discussion. Which always is wonderful.
Happiness is: Catholic Nazi jokes.

Lunch. Key Lime Pie yogurt. It's, like, Yoda-colored... What's not to like? Hehe, excellent picture.
Happiness is: food that reminds you of Star Wars.

Then study hall, which is always the best, right after lunch. I made gobs of paper cranes. Serena made some. Grace made some. Hannah made some. It was like a crane-fest. And I lent Hannah my copy of Boys Don't Cry, which I think made her day.
Happiness is: paper cranes and drag kings.

Then I went to photography (which is basically the best class ever) and we actually went in the darkroom and worked. Which is a new idea for us... We played with real photo paper and chemicals and made prints. And it was fun... Plus ballerina and crackpipe jokes.
Happiness is: Foltz and his art.

Then, finally seventh period. Math, whoo boy... Usually no fun. Today: mucho fun. 'Cause we had a substitute. Which means we had no work to do.
Happiness is: having a free period at the end of the day.

So I did college applications. In colorful pens. Just for fun. I think Northwestern will have no problem with purple, seeing as that is their whole schtick...
Happiness is: colorful college apps.

Then after school we had the first newspaper meeting of the year. Which is always fun, because we got our paper censored by the principal last year, so the sky's the limit now... And I'm going to be photo editor this year, which not only is fun stuff, it'll look good for Harvard too...
Happiness is: doing what you like, liking what you do.

And Derick was singing Wicked the whole meeting. In the octave it belongs. That was a little scary. But entertaining enough to make up for it...
Happiness is: Filipeno Idina Menzel impressions.

So I came home (with RENT blaring again). My sister had a soccer game, so I didn't have to carpool.
Happiness is: full control of all four windows.

And I collected a bunch of random stuff for my collage print in photography tomorrow. A whisk. Some 16mm movie film. A roll of 35mm still film. Beads galore. A CD. A video tape. A Lego man. And a paper crane.
Happiness is: the stuff I find on my floor.

And then Dinner, just me and my momma. New Japanese place downtown. Excellent discussions about life, the universe, and everything (42!). Seriously. We discussed sexuality, and reincarnation, and the 5th dimension, and obscure Broadway, and the Papacy and... lots of stuff. And it was wonderful, just being there with my mommy.
Happiness is: being comfortable with those closest to you.

And then we got dessert. Green tea ice cream. Oddest flavor ever. Very intriguing for the mouth.
Happiness is: caffinated ice cream.

Then we came home, and I, the typical teenage myspace whore that I am... got on the computer. And this girl I've been keeping an eye on at school... yeah, found her on myspace... and we've begun a conversation. She said "hello =]." Okay, so it's not much yet. But it will be!
Happiness is: internet addictions and hormone swings.

Then, to rid myself of all teenager-ness, I watched one of the few movies sure to make everyone feel like a 6-year-old in 1942... Bambi! Awesome as always.
Happiness is: 70-minute movies.

Then, as the perfect end to an amazing day, I sat down at my computer once more and wrote a StarWars.com blog about my day... while listening to everything from La Boheme, to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, to Irish Christmas Carols... Good times.
Happiness is: StarWars with iTunes on random.


So... in true Charlie Brown fashion... Happiness is anyone and anything at all that's loved by you...

May the Force be with you all. Amen.