negativity busting

I had a wonderful summer--rent-free, responsibility-free, and basically carefree. It was a great way to ease into post-graduate lifestyle. However, I then very abruptly jumped into what I've taken to calling "my new life," which includes things like: deciding which of my books are important enough to carry across the country with me, studying for yet another a standardized test, buying very, very expensive plane tickets home for Christmas, learning how to budget vacation days, living in an apartment building with neighbors whose ceilings are our floors, being a pedestrian and public transit user in a city made for cars, the list could go on forever. Mainly, with the sudden influx of responsibility that comes with having a "real job" (well, sort of--more on that later) and various adjustments, I've recently found myself sometimes treading, sometimes drowning, in much more negativity than I'm used to.

This tells me a number of things. That I had a really amazing past few years that I pretty much thoroughly enjoyed--at least enough to consider myself "optimistic" throughout the majority of them. That adjusting to new places is pretty hard, but attempting to be a grownup in the process is way harder. But most importantly, that I will now welcome any and all sources of positivity-boosting, no matter how big or small.

Which brings me to the point of my little, sad-excuse-for-a-much-needed-life-update-post: Marcell the Shell with Shoes On. I'm sure this is not new to anyone (except maybe you, Mom) because it's been out a while. I'm sure everyone has seen and loved it. But I love it because when I first came across poor little Marshell--I apparently needed to be reminded of the power of laughter in boosting my mood. Who would have thought I would ever forget that?! And now whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, this video will undoubtedly cheer me up and keep me in perspective. Marcell/Jenny Slate's genius, I love you. Thank you for keeping me sane.

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.