about making yourself happy
I’m a big believer in that cliché (rule) that every day you should do something that scares you. Every time I step in front of a podium, or look into a TV camera, or go to a doctor’s office, or try to parallel park in New York, I think to myself, “Susan, you are a better person for having done this.” However, sometimes you have to do things just because they are fun. Which is why I went to a school a few weeks ago to meet up with some second graders.
The Fiction Class is not really appropriate for second graders and I knew I was not going to be selling many (any) books, but the teacher had said that the students had never met an author and the school happened to be in the part of Queens near where I grew up and I figured what the heck. There’s no pressure here; the only reason to do it is because it’s fun. And I do love kids.
The moment I walked into the school, my ego felt nourished. There was a security guard and she checked my ID and beamed at me and said “You’re the author?” And I said, “I am!” Then two little sprites ran across the lobby and scooped me up and led me up a steep flight of steps, but I didn’t collapse, and then into a class room. The great thing about kids is that when you ask a question, everyone raises his or her hand. There is so much enthusiasm. I met with three separate second grade classes and we did all sorts of naming exercises: What’s a good name for a bully? For a ballerina? For a police officer? They were fascinated by the process of writing, and intrigued by the fact that I had managed to fill 300 pages. Best of all were the thank you notes I received a few days later, just filled with love and gratitude and interesting questions: Don’t your hands get tired? Reading through those letters, I felt as much pleasure as I’ve felt about anything lately (except for seeing my beautiful daughter get ready for the prom and my son win a major award at his middle school, etc.)
This Saturday (June 14) I will be doing something a little more nerve-wracking, which is that I will be reading at the KGB Bar on 85 E. 4th Street in Manhattan at 7:00. (I’m giving all these details because it is my great hope that many friendly people will show up.) I should be fairly easy to spot. I will be the short woman having an anxiety attack in front of the microphone. Be sure to say hello!
How about you? Have you done anything lately to make yourself happy?
June 12th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
My job is typically very stressful. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that I want to do when I’m working, so there have been times when I’ve put the job ahead of other things, only to find that I’ve made the wrong choice. So I’ve been trying to take time to enjoy life instead of worrying about the next deadline.
The other morning, my tiny, brown tabby crawled up onto my chest and started rolling about, looking for a tummy rub. Instead of rushing to get up, I spent some time just hanging out with her. Considering that she was a very timid, frightened cat when she came to us, it’s a real treat to enjoy the sassy cat that she has become. Whatever else I might have had to do that day, time with my little fur buddy was well spent.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Well there are little daily doses of happiness - the 15 minute morning coffee, the walks. These are incorporated right into my life. But for an extra jolt of happiness this summer, I’ve lined up rock and roll music. My family is going to five concerts, some under the stars, others in small indoor venues. Concerts are like mini-vacations sprinkled throughout the summer, and to hear the live music that’s been a backdrop to life is sublime.
~Joanne
June 21st, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Not all that much yet, but come heck or levee-breaking water, in about three weeks I will be traveling in your direction to attend, probably, my last two games ever at Shea Stadium, with a friend of mine from eighth grade onward coming from even further afield to join me.
I’d hoped to spend next weekend at the pitch-and-shop program, but didn’t convince the Meisters of that of my worthiness. Maybe it’s because I didn’t understand what “commercial fiction” meant when I applied. Ah well. The Mets will outlive me, anyway.
I enjoyed so much of the East Meadow memories in your novel, knowing places and events that most of the reading public just wouldn’t “get.” Here’s one I blogged about yesterday, which isn’t as profound, but which I found oddly amusing:
http://captainsblog.livejournal.com/523967.html
June 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Kids are wonderful, aren’t they? Around them, I am not so anxious, but like you, I’d be very anxious if I had to read my work in public! I have done it in the past though, and I felt very proud of myself for doing so.
I just read a short article in NEWSWEEK that said that psychologists are saying people who blog may be happier, and I have to agree that since I started blogging, I’ve been happier. As a stay-at-home-mom, it gives me a creative outlet, and I’ve made some online friends. It has also sparked more writing ideas in me, and I think I have more discipline when it comes to my writing too.
Besides that, I have recently gotten back into photography. My husband just bought me my first DSLR, and I’ve been having a ball. We just took our first vacation in four years (another thing we did to make us happy!), and I had the best time taking photos. Got some really good ones too. And, yep, my blog has given me a place to showcase some photos too.
May 1st, 2010 at 4:44 pm
sometimes i also have anxiety attacks and when it happens, i just breathe slowly and deeply to help me relax.’:-
May 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Relaxation techniques and meditation can help a lot during Anxiety Attacks. –;