The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. - Mark Twain

[Image courtesy of http://www.booksie.com/romance/novel/rhency/live-the-unexpected}

I thought I'd start off my blog world with a title that I thought was fitting. I am an English Literature student, so naturally I fell back on something Literature-y and found this quote by Mark Twain, the great American author. I think it's a sweet message, and something I like to think I live by. I like to make people happy - I see no reason for causing any upset. For that reason, I've decided to start a blog to share with you (if anyone's reading!) something, hopefully everyday, that has made me happy. Even if I am having a rubbish day there is nearly always something, no matter what sense, that will make me happy. Let me give you an example....


Today, I got the train to Reading from Newbury, early on in the morning, amongst all the busy commuters on their way to London for a hard day's graft. It was a bitterly cold morning, and stupid me only had a jumper and some fingerless gloves to keep me warm. I plugged in my iPod whilst waiting for the train and observed all the people in their suits and black coats. Everyone blended in to each other, a mesh of black cotton and grey fog and icy pavement and there was me with my purple gloves and gold knit jumper, standing out like a sore thumb. To stay out of the cold I jumped on to the train to Paddington, even though I knew it was going to be a stand up journey. Everyone was settled in their seats, not talking to each other, absorbed in their own little bubbles i.e. prime time people watching!

Now, people watching, is one of my favourite hobbies. There is nothing better than sitting outside a cafe with a coffee (or, more often than not, a glass of wine) and watching the world go by. This particular morning was brilliant for the sport. I stood in the middle of the carriage and observed. On my right was a woman clearly ignoring the unwritten rule of silence on an early morning commute, chatting away to some innocent bystander who just wanted to escape to his book. She was smiling and laughing in her table seat and was clearly making the best of a mundane situation. She had a red coat on, a happy contrast to the sea of black trench coats. To my left, there was a man sitting in the window seat. He was dressed in a sharp, smart suit with a briefcase by his feet and a netbook on his pull down table with important documents glaring out from the screen, indications of an important meeting or project. And there he was, head back, mouth hanging open, sleeping like a baby. It was like a juxtaposition of reality and fantasy. A truly beautiful moment.
Then to make things better, once I was in Reading train station I bought myself a mocha to go, clutched it tight to make my hands toasty and sipped it on the bus that I didn't have to wait for. Is there anything more perfect that early in the morning?

♥ Keep Smilin' =D ♥