Hey all, there's a lot of crazy stuff going on out in the world, with plenty of stuff to be upset about, you may even have plenty of reasons to be upset over things in your personal life. Subeta has a Vent Room for that, if you must.

I did see a positivity thread in Small Talk, but it's old and I dunno about you... [EDIT] i just realized the latest post is newer, but I don't go in that forum/section very often! My goal is throw positivity OUT THERE. I want people to really think about what makes them happy, and to find contentment and joy in smaller things and activities.

Post about something good that happened to you (or even someone else). Something you're excited about, that you look forward to, that you are optimistic about. Post about what your grateful for. Make a gratitude list. Post about things that you like, whether it be a noun or a verb (like a hobby or other activity). For example, I love coffee and meditation! And just think about those things. Those pleasant, enjoyable things.

If you have something that helps bring you joy, let the world know, especially if it's helpful to you in some way! It may help someone else!

I am grateful for my family, my animals, my job, my health, the apartment we live in, the city I live in, my friends, internet, my plants, good food and drinks, access to water, warm showers, a place that is comfortable to sleep. I am grateful that I am no longer depressed!

Something good that happened to me was stuff that I had done! I felt productive today. Among the things I did was register for a couple summer classes. I am looking forward to them!

I started drinking a lot of tea (both caffeinated and non-caffeinated), it has helped me drink more water, feel full, and I love the ritual and feeling of having a mug in my hand that isn't coffee or something heavy.

Let's hoist ourselves up, now. Try to make yourself smile.

I can give one, I took two and a half years to recover my driver's license. Mostly because my anxiety kept me from speaking up in the first place. Also I could only make progress when I had appointments, and when I finally sent it off, the outbreak had its effect.

I got a letter saying my case was approved, now its a matter of finding some documents, and getting someone to help with payment.

I'm also grateful for all of these things :) (except the ones i crossed out, as i dont really have friends. I'll add instead my fiance <3, and that not all days are dark. Today i did nothing productive, but i managed to decluter a bit - 2 soup dishes and 2 plates (large enough for a birthday cake). these didn't bring joy anymore and they went to a lady who is new in town.

Just a general happiness thing for me for today... I got a couple packages in the mail today (one arriving several days before I anticipated) so now I have my breakfast oats for the next approximate month and also 4 new holo nail polishes! And the polishes are super pretty, which I'm very pleased about since I ordered them as "mystery box" option, so I didn't actually know what I'd be getting. XD And I also made a little progress on a stuffed animal I started last week AND also mostly took apart my bike, except for the chain and a bike lock that I need to cut off because I lost the key to it years ago, for starting to repaint tomorrow (I can't find one of the paints I want/need for it, but I can do the base coat tomorrow and the rest next weekend.)

I feel better at the moment than I did a few months ago when that certain thing happened. Yes, I still have problems, but because I don't want to drive the people I care about away (because I really do care even if it seems silly), I mostly use the vent thread mentioned in the first post to get it off my chest (because I have to let it out somewhere, so I'm trying to adapt in a way that won't annoy everyone).

I've been able to go and see family members again. I'm still waiting to be able to return to my social groups, but I've also been out to some places just to spend time by myself, or rather, with myself.

A good thing happened from a really challenging thing for me;

I injured both of my wrists from my job (over the span of a few months, starting last year), and most days I can't even hold a pencil or write. I wasn't able to draw for months and months, but since March I've been at home all the time so I've been teaching myself how to draw with a mouse! It's tricky because I'm left handed but really can't use the mouse with my left hand, so it's completely different, but I've learned SO MUCH.

Not only a new skill (I've been trying to learn how to draw with a pencil with my right hand too, it's not /as/ injured as my left hand, so on good days I can do a little bit of drawing), but also I've learned a lot about digital art and rendering. There are some aspects about digital art that I love a lot, it definitely has great tools! And it's easy for me to decide to draw since I'm almost always already at my computer. I don't have to do much physically to get started. And one day I'll be healed, and will have all of this under my belt, and it's making me a much better artist!

Oh boy, this is hard. In late July I moved to a new state in which I have no friends or family (Idaho), my best friend's father passed away while she was helping me move, which changed pretty much everything between us, and then my lung collapsed a week after she left. But to my surprise, despite her tight financial situation, my sister managed to fly out from Ohio to visit me in the ER when my parents didn't. We had a delightful couple of days at the house after I was sent home. She helped to lift my spirits a lot. I lost my job a few months back due to Covid-19, but I've been applying for new ones in Idaho Falls like mad, and I've recently attended several interviews and am crossing my fingers for good news. My sister and I have been talking more than ever, which makes me feel less alone and more motivated to work on my life and try to leave my past struggles behind. Also I'm happy to be able to afford an actual HOUSE in this state. It's had a couple issues, but they've since been fixed and I enjoy not having to listen to noisy neighbors. I'm lucky to have enough savings to make it the next two months without income as well. A lot of people my age don't have that luxury.

So I'm very bad at gardening, but my most recent plants are actually thriving and looking gorgeous. Every day they're bigger and they're finally blooming as well. This is the first time I've ever had plants do so well under my care and it makes me feel really good.

It took three years of hard manual labor, but my wife and I finally paid off our student loans. After that we celebrated by getting her a brand new car to replace her unreliable one. Our lives are starting to reach a turning point after years of misery. The future looks brighter with each passing day. Our hard work, determination, and sacrifice is steadily paying us back in dividends with the promise of an easier, more carefree life after we're past our twenties. Doing fifty hour weeks at a job we had to take because we couldn't find positions in our respective fields of study has been a blow to our quality of life, but once this house of ours is paid off, the sky's the limit.