Find a Way to Make Your Day Great, Even When You Don't Feel Good.

Things don't always go as planned, nor do ideas always work out. But, one thing you should have in common throughout every unfortunate outcome is a positive outlook...it's practically essential to mentally surviving a wretched intent.

Do you need an example? I got you.

Monday, January 3rd was my 28th birthday.

As usual, it was raining all day long in Long Beach, but this raining Monday was supposed to be different. Often, many of my friends are out of town for the holidays, sick with the common winter cold, or too exhausted or broke from the holidays to hang out with me.

But, I always plan anyways so this year I organized a very chill get-together at a local hangout hosting popular DJ Greyboy and dope local band Warchurch. To my surprise, nearly 35 of my friends promised to be there and were responding immediately once I sent a mass text Saturday and really got me juiced about my birthday. It was going to be an excellent night full of new and old friends and my-kinda music.

Then I woke up.

Early Monday morning I rolled outta bad and felt like crap. I immediately realized I sick with a virus that was not going to allow me to party with all my friends, as I had so ecstatically planned.

BumFreakinBummed.

I had to email, text and FaceBook so many people to tell them I was too sick to celebrate and couldn't answer even one phone call with my usual perky tone. I was too upset that this happened on the one day that is supposed to be special for me.

But then my mother said something to me and although at the moment it didn't help much, after we hung up, my eyes really opened. When complaining that I had to cancel to so many friends, she said "Well, at least you have that many friends that wanted to spend your birthday with you."

And from then on, as my attitude perked, so did my day. A wonderful, longtime bestfriend (Blair Masri) insisted on helping me in some way, so she took me out to lunch at my traditional birthday restaurant La Capilla, where another great friend (Kelleigh Garcia) met us and I laughed the entire lunch and received a Lakers gift from Kelleigh. Blair also sent me flowers that I received after she dropped me off and labeled the card to "Moldy Cheese Haupt" and wrote that if she was gay she would marry me, which clearly made me crack up.

I also had a package waiting for me with a pair of shoes from my cousins, a card with money from my other Aunt and Uncle Richardson and had a bestfriend (Katie Streicher) show up at my door with a bouquet of purple and yellow flowers and a bottle of Jack, in case I wanted to drink.

On top of that, I continued to get call after call, text after text, and literally TONS of FaceBook notifications from people complimenting me, bringing me tons of wishes and just doing what friends are supposed to do...making me smile.

So, although I didn't get to celebrate in the traditional "birthday" way, I realized that my positivity is a gift in itself and sharing it is my virtue.

So, signing out of Molly's "Wednesday's Words of Encouragement" I leave you with this: Find a way to make your day great, even when you don't feel good.

Love you Mom!! Thanks for your encouragement!!