thoughts of mine that no one asked for

 I've been journaling recently. My friend's been doing it for a while, and I suppose I'm a sucker for peer pressure, so here I am. It's been quite therapeutic; I've found that it's a great way to lay down your thoughts, to take information out of your head and put it on a page. In the long term, I'd love to know the effect this has on your brain. Is it bad to remove the need to hold several big-picture worries and anxieties in your head at once, or might it be beneficial? Either way, I know that it feels great in the short term, so why not do a bit of that here. 

Happiness doesn't like to leave evidence of itself behind. To me, it's like a shadow in some ways: around in certain circumstances, largely (though not entirely) out of our control, rarely paid attention to when it's around, and, of course, unlikely to ever leave a physical trace. It's hard to record true happiness. For one, it's hard (at least, for me) to put it into writing or any other form of art that comes best when you're inspired. It's easiest to dig deep when your emotions are a bit frayed and closer to the surface, which is not the case when you're happy. Also, finding the motivation to record my happiness is something I never seem to be able to do. When I'm happy, I usually want to experience it, not remove myself from the moment, but when I'm sad, it's the total opposite. So when I need happiness the most, it's often difficult to find any traces of it from the past and, on some level, to remember it exists. This whole section was a bit "the floor here is made out of floor"—all of what I just typed feels like a basic description of how our brains work rather than an account of their flaws, but whatever. Sometimes you need to complain about the unchangeable or something. 

On a much lighter note, back-to-school shopping is a thing, and it majorly sucks. I've forgotten how to purchase clothes. I've forgotten what my style is. I've forgotten it all. So here's to a year of fashion flubs, I suppose. Can't wait.