Ashley (U.S.A.)

So, here’s the deal: my life is pretty awesome. I am pursuing my ever-evolving dream of being a comedy writer, which was preceded by dreams of being a journalist, and of being a pink flamingo. I love my job, my friends and where I am at in life right now. Basically, I appreciate everything and it makes me super happy. 

If I were religious, I would probably be an “everything happens for a reason” person, but since I’m not, I am more of an “I don’t know where the heck I am going, but I’m fucking into it” type. You get into a lot of adventures and very strange situations that way. It’s like, I may be poor, but at least I am not the old man who eats pie alone at DuPar’s every night at 11, hilariously incompetent lady who sells sheets at Macy’s, or drunk guy that yells out “I am going to have butt sex on YOUR front lawn” when he gets angry. I love those people, creepily, from a distance. Heck, sometimes I even talk to them to find out what their deals are. 

It’s hard to get down on yourself for trivial things when you enjoy everything around you. Yeah, I have days that suck, I just think it’s a waste of time to wallow in self-pity about them. Seriously, don’t do that, it’s pointless. What follows is an attempt to make everyone feel as happy as I do, because I am self-important like that. 

Ashley’s Tips to Happiness:

-Actively seek the weirdness in your environment.

-Build real friendships, life is too short to waste time hanging out with people you only kinda like.

-Don’t commute. Seriously, my life got so much better once I moved three miles away from where I work.

-Don’t make Kim Kardashian jokes, no one thinks those are funny.

-Be fearless. This drunk british dude who was wearing a fisherman hat and a suit (just, for the record) once told me I was fearless. Sure, that was in the context of a poker tournament at a seedy hotel in Las Vegas, but I’ve been going with it as a life motto and it’s been treating me very well. 

-Be open-minded about where life is taking you. I had a really specific environmental major, and now I work in advertising – and I love it.

-Do something you’re good at, be it painting, marathons or improv. It will make you feel awesome about yourself.

-Don’t define yourself by your 9-5, you’re a whole lot more than that. And if you are just that, you probably need to reprioritize something.

-Take some “me” time. IDK, I enjoy very few things more than reading a good book while sitting at a diner counter and sipping mediocre coffee. 

-Don’t sleep too much, wasting a whole day sleeping is hella lame.

-Have a really specific collection. It makes it easier for people to buy you presents. Mine is “weird wood things.”

-Be passionate about something. Cool points if you’re passionate about something weird.