The following is a list. Neither a grocery or hate list, but a list of all the things to be happy about. This list will just about cover all the things in life which bring about a smile and lighten the hearts of people when they say, see, hear or do anything else like that. So during the next few weeks, when you’re feeling the stress of school, just take out this list and start reading. Feel free to add to it at anytime but keep it clean. Enjoy.

Volleyball, lime jello, sharing Jolly Ranchers with friends, front row seats at Andy’s for Mr. Meyers, Disney movies, Indigo Girls, hitting a triple twenty in cricket, walking barefoot, water skiing, the Muppets, sunsets over the ocean, finding a parking place at NIU, snowball fights, big warm sweatshirts, Christmas break, “Brown-Eyed Girl” and other sing-along songs, sunny days, guys in tight jeans or girls in short miniskirts, getting mail from friends, the end of finals week, warm blankets, Santa Claus, home-cooked meals, Oreo cookies and milk, hot fudge sundaes, English-speaking professors, skipping through the Art Institute, going out with friends, taking your laundry home for mom to wash, hot chocolate by warm fires, bonfires, star-filled skies, full gas tanks, cars that don’t get flat tires, getting all your classes, free textbooks, good friends, finding something in the first place you look, Christmas carolers, swimming, water polo, messages on your answering machine, fish that live for more than one day, smoke- free environments, payday, Ollie’s flavor of the day, Bahama Mama’s in a bucket from Baja Beach Club, looking at photographs, baby pictures, getting kisses from small children, bunnies, kitties, puppies (you know all those cute little animals), Pringles, decorating Christmas trees, opening presents, teachers who care, designated drivers, lazy Sunday afternoons, Da Bulls and Michael Jordan, warm beer nuggets, twenty-first birthdays (this also makes the list of things that make you puke!), finishing papers, memorizing lines to your favorite movies, trick-or-treating, getting flowers just because, schmoozing, Pepsi, road trips, alternative music, icy trees, classic Christmas movies, watching the Roadrunner outsmart the Coyote again, beating someone in the card game of War especially if it’s under a minute, live concerts, slugbugs, police who give warnings not tickets, green lights, Reggae bands with steel drums, the color forest green, chocolate chip cookie dough, nap time, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Dr. Seuss books, a box of 64 Crayola crayons with a crayon sharpener, feeding the ducks and squirrels, Silly Putty, sidewalk chalk, cow tipping, blowing bubbles, food fights, singing commercials, Legos, Chicago-style pizza, children’s artwork, laughing until you’re in pain, Twister, dimples, a fair game of Monopoly, crossword puzzles, Calvin and Hobbes, Opus, bubblegum blowing contests, hot showers, sidewalks with no mud or barricades, the Oscar Mayer weiner song, slam-dunks, ice skating on a pond, fig newtons, mud squishing between your toes, sucking the cream out of Twinkies, the Grand Prize game on the Bozo Show, Sesame Street, families who love you, peace, love and happiness, Ren and Stimpy, visiting the Land of Wa, significant others. And best of all, hearing someone say, “I love you.”

And with that comes my final happy, happy, joy, joy, for the semester.