Positivity

When the pandemic began, I found it really hard to adjust to the large change that it brought. Our school was let out for spring break and towards the end, we were all getting ready to get back to school, when we got an email saying the break was extended for a week and we will be doing online assignments that week. I felt “Oh, it’s only a week and it’ll be nice to stay home for another week this is great!”. But that “week” didn’t end. We ended up staying online for the rest of the school year. Towards the last couple of weeks of school, I wanted everything to end. I wanted life to go back to normal. I began to feel stuck, a little scared even. I wondered if life would ever go back to normal. Then, I began to even question what “normal” even is. Amidst all this, my mood began to go down. I wasn’t the same person I used to be, at least inside. I found it really hard to stay optimistic when everything around me was falling apart. Then about 2 weeks into summer, at night when I was in bed, I thought about everything that I do have. Everything that I should be grateful for. And everything that this pandemic helped me to get. Then I realized, it’s not only the bad, and that there is a bright side to everything, even if it isn’t obvious.

What is positivity?

Positivity doesn’t mean always smiling and being happy. You can also be positive even when you aren’t so happy. Positivity is a mindset. It’s the way that you choose to look at an outcome. It’s the way that you train your mind to think when something, both bad or good happens. It takes time to learn how to always be positive, but it’s definitely worth it. ​​ Why should you think positively?

Positive thinking can:

• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of stress
• Help develop better coping skills during hard times
• Better your quality of life
• Higher energy levels

Keep Smiling!

– Akshara