Break Out the Happy Pills!

I haven't updated my blog in a few days and the reason for that is I am facing a barrage of hellish ordeals otherwise known as law school final exams. Apart from being totally consumed by boring old tests, bad stuff just seems to be happening to me lately. I have succumbed to illness (a sore throat); money is ridiculously scarce; my car broke down on me in the middle of the highway and I had to have it towed; my knee is still acting up from the 100 miler I ran (but did not finish) on October 30; I have had little time to run at all; I feel like I'm getting fat, fatter, FATTEST; and a bird pooped on me the other day (I am told it is a good luck sign, but I have my doubts). These are dark days indeed my friends.

It is so important to maintain a sense of humor during these periods of despair. But what do you do when you cannot muster up the positive energy to laugh and be cheery? I have always joked with friends that I wanted to find some happy pills - magical medicine that I could down in a gulp and instantly feel better!

So yesterday, I was walking back to my apartment (no car here, remember?) and I passed Smoothie King. I had never been to a Smoothie King before. A nice cold, fruity-sweet concoction sounded like just the ticket. As I was browsing their nutrition supplements, my eyes fell upon what I can only describe as an omen. Days before, I told my friend on the phone that I wanted some happy pills. What did I see on the shelves of Smoothie King but actual, literal Happy Pills?! That is what they are called: Happy Pills, the Non-Prescription Feel Good Formula. The package is yellow and covered with little smiley faces. How great is that? I was sold before I even read the details: "feel better now: higher energy level, increased sense of wellbeing, weight loss, and no artificial colors or flavorings." Excellent.


They are put out by a company called Brain Pharma. Caffine and St. John's Wort seem to be the active ingredients. It's nothing really special, just your average supplement that you might find in a grocery store or gas station, right next to the ginkgo biloba and caffine pills. The name is what gets me. How funny that I found, at long last, my precious, hypothetical-until-now "happy pills."

So, I urge you, if you are struggling to stay positive, to find your own "happy pills." That doesn't mean you have to get a silly dietary supplement. Your happy pills can be in the form of running, or reading a good book, or watching a funny movie, or spending time with family or your special someone. Just find the humor in life, find the light, and ride out the dark times. The bad stuff will pass. All is well!

Here is a good song to help put you in the right mood!



And another: