happiness is:

- getting thousands of different perspectives and definitions on a single word (ie: What is 'development'?)
- returning to the cliches of college life
- overhearing a conversation of two friends that went like: "Dude! How are you? When did you get back [from the mission]?" "Oh, this morning.... I just got back from the airport; the time change is killing me!" Apparently he served in India
- reading an article that listed my major in the list of Top 10 worst majors and realizing I just don't care, I love it too much
- playing volleyball again - even if that means having to put up with freshman boy flirting and know-it-all players
- making dinner every single night and figuring out how much we save doing that
- the nice lady I ran into who told me that I look like I work out
- being exposed to thousands of journal articles I never would've thought to look into
- finally figuring out my own political opinion
- my basil plants!
- wearing a polka dot sweater
- burning fall scented candles
- being caught up and even ahead of all my reading assignments
- making new friends because I want to, not out of necessity
- listening to people's dreams and goals. It's motivating and eye-opening
- an extra wad of cash that came into our account
- thunderstorms answering unspoken prayers
- having my family come down last weekend for a brief visit
- grandma helping me figure out what to do with all the plants growing in my front berm
- mom giving me decorative fall gourds for the porch
- parking illegally twice this week... and not getting a ticket from the BYU police
- hubby installing our sliding curtains for our closet
- subtle changes in the weather
- pink lady apples for sale! The Washingtonian in me is happy
- watching the trees change colors on the mountain
- finally mailing off some thank you note cards/pictures to some very deserving people

This week was just so good, I couldn't help but share it. I've found that happiness is so much more dependent on the choices you make daily, rather than the situations you're in. When I take the responsibility of my happiness on myself rather than expect the world to make me happy, I find it easier to appreciate and even find joy in the mundane.