Our 16th Birthday: Day 5480

Day 5480:
Happiness is.. finding the words, after all this time.

There are certain days that are unforgettable. The birthday of a childhood best friend. (February 15) The anniversary of a life changing decision (April 1)

There are certain years that remain remarkable. The year you graduated high school. (2012) The year you moved to a new city. (2016)

There are seasons that sear into our memory. Seasons for exploring. (Summer 2018) Seasons for healing. (Winter 2021)

There are months that whisk past in a blink. There are years lost to fear. There are seasons we cannot identify until they live solidly in the realm of ‘remember when’ and the turning point is a hazy memory.

But the foundational piece of all of this is the day. A brief 24 hour period. A cyclical thing at a comprehensible scale.

Some days hold more weight than others.

I spent a few hours of one day at the football field of my high school but I will forever relate to a Class of 2012 graduation cap tassel.

Some days get lost to the heaviness.

It is hard to pull individual days out of January 2017 but when I think of that time it is a dark and distorted period.

How do we measure a day?

If I were to walk twenty miles a day, it would take 19 days to get from my New York City apartment to my childhood bedroom in Western Pennsylvania.

It took me 720 days to go through four years of high school, assuming 180 days each school year.

I’ve worked at my current job for 1,161 days; been vegan for approximately 2,700 days; and lived in New York City for 3,951 days.

It took 796 days to build the Eiffel Tower. It took approximately 3287 days to build the Statue of Liberty.

How many days did it take me to change my life?

Maybe just one.

Day 1: Happiness is..

Day 5480: Happiness is..

I never liked the idea of doing one thing every day that scares you. It never felt sustainable and because of that—even as someone who likes being tossed out the comfort zone—it was never aspirational.

I did, however, like the idea of doing one thing every day to get better. What would it look like to do something simple but consistent? To do one thing every day not built on fear but built on gratitude.

I didn’t mean to start something. I just figured I could post one more day.

But that’s the thing about those days.

They turn into your life.

Those busy days make up my busy month. (October 2026) Those joy-filled days make me look back with love (November 2018)

Those anxious days define that season (October 2021) Those adventurous days define that moment (October 2025)

But there is a through line that supersedes even that. A through line that shows that time wasn’t such a monolith.

Joy in the anxiety. Sorrow in the dream.

But what if there was a bigger core value. What if there was a louder voice in the room. That the thing to lead with wasn’t the circumstance but the response. Wasn’t the situation but the lesson.

And so I’ve kept my eyes focused on joy. Focused on the good. Seeking it. Creating it. Sharing it.

And these thousands of days, many of which one might filter under unremarkable became revolutionary.

They became radical in their noticing. Became bold in their resilience. Became infallible in their hope.

Day after ordinary day. There has been joy. All I had to do was show up to it.

Happy Joy Day. I am so excited for year 16.. which is to say, I am so excited for another 365 days.