My Honest Thoughts on #100HappyDays

Hey y'all! So this post has been a long time coming. I finished the challenge on Instagram 2 weeks ago, and wrote my final recap last week, so check that out if you haven't already! I've also decided to intersperse my text with some of my favorite photos from the challenge, so enjoy!
I'm not going to lie, I did not get as much out of this challenge as I wanted to. According to the website:

       "People successfully completing the challenge claimed to:

        - Start noticing what makes them happy every day;

        - Be in a better mood every day;

        - Start receiving more compliments from other people;

        - Realize how lucky they are to have the life they have;

        - Become more optimistic;

        - Fall in love during the challenge."

I did notice what made me happy, but that was only because "Oh, crap, I need a post for today." I'm a really competitive person, so I was more worried about being one of the few people to finish the challenge (Shoutout to Marla and Shruthi for finishing too!) than actually finding things to be happy about. It really stressed me out when it was 9 PM and I hadn't posted anything for the day. 

I'm also a total perfectionist, so my photo had to be like-worthy, so not just a last-minute selfie, or poorly photographed food. Good composition, beautiful lighting, and not-obviously filtered (although I broke this rule a few times). Remember that I started this in March, so I was doing this all through AP tests and finals. Because of this, I turned to my 1500 photo camera roll/Facebook to look for throwbacks. I'm no even kidding, at the end of the challenge, I ran out of pictures to post. I'm pretty sure I posted 3 or 4 photos from my school's grad with different people. 


It's not that I always hated it. I loved taking the time to write a couple of thoughtful sentences about a friend whom I really appreciated, and it was truly an honor to be in another friend's post for the day. With the whole being happier thing, I'm already a pretty happy person, so that wasn't exactly my goal. 

The effects of #100HappyDays? Posting every single day means lots of notifications, so nowadays, I don't post everyday (thank god- it's WAY too much work), and I don't have as many notifications now, which was a little weird at first, but I've liked settling back into my regular routine of posting whenever I feel like it.


Do I recommend trying the challenge? Sure! It's definitely a challenge, and you'll feel accomplished for getting it done, and who knows- you might see the effects the foundation claims people see. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. No harm in trying :)

If you've done the challenge, what are your thoughts on it? If not, would you consider trying it? 

xo, Hima

100 Happy Days | Days 88 - 100!

Hey y'all! So it's been a few days since I finished the #100HappyDays challenge on Instagram, so I thought I should get around to writing my final recap. I'll be doing a post on my experience later this week, or early next week, but until then- yay for hella pictures! (hi marla).

Day 88: Throwback to grad with my IDC partner Hana! Hana and I are weirdly alike, from being Mindy Project obsessed to randomly dressing the same- our advisor constantly gets us confused! 

Day 88 (pt. 2 I guess): So over the course of 100 days, I was bound to mess up the numbers at some point. I guess this was supposed to be day 89, but whatever. Another throwback to the county fair 12 years ago with someone I couldn't imagine my life without!

Day 89: OMG WHAT?! Yeah, you read right. I wrote a post about this a couple of weeks ago- here's the link. 

Day 90: So I'm learning to drive, and on my first day of highway driving practice, I was blessed with this beautiful sunset! And no, I did not take this while driving. 

Day 91: Spent a glorious Sunday at the lake with my family- hiking, biking, and kayaking!

Day 92: Throwback to 1 year ago, when I started working as a teacher with Breakthrough Silicon Valley! Check out my post on my experience here. 

Day 93: This stuff is amazing! My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chip and this did not disappoint. Also, the original photo wasn't this saturated; I'm not sure what's up with blogger. 

Day 94: Looks amazing, doesn't it? I made my first ever smoothie bowl, and shared my experience and recipe here!

Day 95: I went to the art museum on a field trip with my art class last week, and I could not get over this beautiful painting from India! How amazing are those colors!?

Day 96: Apologies for the grime on the window, but the Caltrain was stuck for about 15 minutes, and this view definitely made things better!

Day 97: My favorite thing about summer is hands down the fruit. I would survive on berries and nectarines if my mother let me. 

Day 98: Beach days filled with dolphin sitings, boogie boarding, and reading books are always the best!

Day 99: We received this adorable note and biscotti from our fabulous neighbors. What's not happy about this? Sidenote: I love my neighborhood- everyone is so nice and helpful ALL the time!

 
Day 100 (!!) A beautiful sunset right outside my house. Yes, I was standing in the middle of the road. No, it doesn't matter because hardly anyone comes down our street!

Okay, before I sign off, two things:
1. Sorry for the sometimes abysmal photo quality and resulting irregular image sizing and random white spaces from putting landscape photos on Instagram.  It drives me nuts too, but the challenge is over, so we won't have to worry about it anymore!
2. I hit 250 followers on Bloglovin' yesterday! I just wanted to thank all of you for reading on/commenting on my blog- it means more to me than you could know! Y'all are the best :) LOVE YOU!

xo, Hima

100 Happy Days | Days 78 - 87

Hey y’all!  This week I started my summer art class, which I’m super excited about. Who knows- maybe I’m destined to be an artist and I’ll find that out through this class! Just kidding, but hopefully I’ll actually make some friends (this is a legitimate worry I’m not kidding) and produce some pretty room décor. Today’s #100HappyDays recap is the third to last, and I’m really happy about that, so let’s get right into it!

Day 78: Last week, my family and I went out to Castle Rock State Park for some afternoon exploring. This is my favorite place to hike, because it has this giant boulders that are really fun to climb, and I’m always challenged to find new ways up the rocks and to get myself up to the highest point possible. I love that we only have to drive 20 minutes to get to this beautiful place.

Day 79: Shroots and I went back to our old elementary school to visit our teachers from 10 years ago. It's crazy to think they've known us since we were six years old! Both of us have been pretty good at keeping in touch with them, but it was nice to see them as always!

Day 80: The strawberry poppyseed salad at Panera is my favorite salad ever, so every opportunity to have this salad is happy!

Day 81 (1): One of my best friends and I biked out to this adorable little coffee shop called Chromatic Coffee, and we both really liked it! My coffee tolerance isn't that high, so my drink was basically milk with ice and some coffee, but she really liked her cold brew! Also they serve them in mason jars like is that not the best thing ever?

Day 81 (2): Remember on my summer bucket list, how I said I wanted to bike 20 miles? Well I almost did it. I was SO disappointed to map out my route and see that it was only 19. But I burned over 1000 calories which is as good as it gets! Hopefully I'll get to 20 this weekend!

Day 82: I'm in love with her and this picture. I'm not obsessed with The Fault in Our Stars like everyone else on the planet seems to be, but this looks so much like the movie poster!

Day 83: This picture is from February (oops). But cupcakes. 

Day 84: My friend and I made the "Great Wall of Chocolate" for a Fathers' Day/birthday/grad party- recipe will be up next week!

Day 85: Fathers' Day! Please enlighten me as to why my parents thought it would be a good idea to have a "western" shoot 11 years ago other than to look back and laugh at the pictures. 

Day 86: Summer workout buddy + bffl!

Day 87: Art has not been a total failure. It's quite relaxing actually!

Aaaand that's another #100happydays recap done! Have any of you ever taken an art class? Let me know what you liked (or hated!) about it in the comments below!

xo, Hima

100 Happy Days | Days 70 - 77

Hey y'all! I just got back from bike riding 8 miles in 95 degree weather, so I'm super tired, but I'm also really happy to just sit down in front of the fan and blog away. (No homework because school is over YAY!) I thought it was time for another installment of #100happydays, so enjoy!

Day 70: Although I didn't have a lot of finals to study for, I had to read this book, and these were my study essentials! Also, my giant mason jar cup is my favorite thing ever. 

Day 71: I haven't really announced this on the blog yet, but I cut my hair! 7 inches, to be exact. It took a little getting used to, but I love it now!

Day 72: We went to Vasona Lake to decompress a little, and it was too glorious not to post a picture of. Look at the water and how blue it is!

Day 73: I found my 6th grade school photo and figured out that I literally have not changed since middle school. This is a serious issue you guys. I was getting on the Caltrain the other day, and the conductor asked me if I was using my older sister's high school ID from the beginning of this year. Awks because that was me last August!

Day 74: My friend Somya and I baked cookies from scratch for all of our teachers and friends for the last day of school and they were amazing. I'll be sure to post the recipe sometime, although I didn't take any pictures!

Day 75: We had our end of year leadership banquet, and I just had to take a picture with Tara. She may of may not have asked if she could be one of my happy days ;) She's so sweet and funny that I was definitely happy to post this adorable picture with her. 

Day 76: Graduation! It was truly bittersweet to see the seniors graduate on Friday, because they're truly such an amazing class and I'm going to miss them, but it was also so cool to officially become seniors!

Day 77: This is Gauri, and she has just been such a rock for me through this year. We also finally got this adorable picture, and I couldn't help but post it!

And that wraps up this week's edition of #100HappyDays. I can't believe I'm almost done with this project- expect a recap at the end! :)

xo, Hima

100 Happy Days | Days 60 - 69

Hey y'all! Besides the fact that today was the last Friday of the school year, it was just a really great day all around, and I'm definitely ready for a weekend studying for the one final I have and relaxing with friends and family. Before that, here are the next 10 days of my 100 Happy Days challenge. As always, don't forget to follow me on Instagram for daily updates. 

Day 60: This was a Staff Appreciation Week promo for school, and the idea was that we took a picture with our favorite teacher and write a caption letting them know how much we appreciate them. Here's what I wrote about my Spanish teacher: 

"Lynbrook Staff Appreciation Week 2014! I've been lucky to have had Señora as my Spanish teacher for two years, and while los actividades can get SUPER repetitive, and speaking English en clase always means a "menos cinco!" I've loved getting to know her as a person, and I definitely appreciate her!"

Day 61: Clothes make me happy sometimes (all the time), and I just really liked the simplicity of this outfit! Better than the last time I wore this skirt.

Day 62: Friday was our school's annual fashion show, and I made posters for two or my favorite models, Divya and Juila :) They were so fierce on stage!

Day 63: Let's be real, bio puns probably make me a little happier than they should, but I still love 'em! :)

Day 64: Throwback to fashion show and looking cute with my fave. And yes, I've been wearing the same flip-flops every single day! They're just so comfortable. 

Day 65: My family and I spent Memorial Day at the beautiful Vasona Lake and Park, and it was just a perfect day. 

Day 66: It was my queen's birthday. Rani has been a great support system this year, and I'm so happy to have her!

Day 67: It's the little things :) 

Day 68: I know I've posted a picture of this one before, but from being my dress-up day buddy, to my best friend on Snapchat (at times), to listening to me talk about everything, to talking to me about everything, I've gone through it all with Tulika, and I love her x 10000000. 

Day 69: I won this Behind the Scenes award in my AP Bio class at school, and although it's just some silly class award, it really means a lot to me that my classmates nominated me for this, since it was one of my hardest classes, and I worked so hard to do well. Notice the fact that our class mascot, Quincy the Iguana signed it ;)

Over and out, y'all. Happy Weekend!

xo, Hima

100 Happy Days | Day 53 - 59

Hey y'all! I know I said I'd be blogging more regularly post AP-testing, but I'm just really lazy and am just now getting around to getting my act together. To be honest, I get REALLY distracted when I sit down to write a blog post, so sometimes I'll sit down and write half and post and end up just quitting. 

I'm working on my focus, and I'll try to pre-write some posts this weekend for next week! Until then, enjoy the next bit of 100 Happy Days, and don't forget to follow my Instagram to see my daily updates!

Day 53: Flowers are always pretty, and these were just so cheery when I got home from school!

Day 54: La familia is always the best! So great that they can't even look in the same direction to take a picture ;)

Day 55: It was really hot on this day, and my mom brought home the cutest mason jars. THe next logical step was making fruit smoothies right? The pink is raspberry and the blue is blueberry!

Day 56: Of all the 100 Happy Days posts I've done, this is definitely my favorite. I went to my younger brother's open house, and saw a project that they did at the beginning of the year where they had to name their hero and draw a picture. While a lot of the kids chose a superhero or their parents, my brother chose me! My only hope is that I can live up to this, and continue to be his hero. 

Day 57: We had a girls’ night with junk food and movies, and these cookies were adorable! We watched The Dictator, and Pitch Perfect, which made for a night of side-splitting laughter.

Day 58: Our family went up to this gorgeous place called Villa Montalvo for a picnic, and they had this amazing interactive art exhibit there. I thought it was beautiful that so many people could contribute to it, but it always looked beautiful.

Day 59: Succulents are pretty. That is all.

I'll have another post up tomorrow, so see you then!

OH, and my post about 15 of the worst first problems was featured through the Her Campus Blogger Network so we sure to check that out if you haven't already. 

xo, Hima