You’re walking up the stairs of the H-building and you are engulfed in chaos. On your left is a group of kids exiting English class, complaining about some impossible quiz. On your right, you have a semi-circle of distressed teens discussing the laughable love life of their “friend,” throwing around insults faster than you can comprehend.

Welcome to Oak Park High School, where you and your peers bond in three special ways.

One, complaining about how little sleep you got last night. Somehow, this never fails to turn into a battle between who got the least amount of sleep, because Sally only got four hours, but Ally, Ally only got three. Lovely.

Two, whining about the mountain of homework you have for English, on top of the math lessons that just didn’t stick.

Three (a fan favorite) talking badly about the unlucky friend that just happens to not be in the right place at the time, making them the topic of conversation.

Here’s the thing: Although we may not realize it, our normalized, everyday language and word choice tend to be quite negative. All these pessimistic thoughts translate to pessimistic words, which translate to pessimistic actions. Is this any way to live our lives?

Look, I’m aware that ‘Be Positive!’ probably triggers a succession of eye rolls from anyone reading this, but if you can re-configure your outlook, you can truly be prosperous in life.

According to Mayo Clinic, a foundation for Research and Medical Education, research shows that health benefits associated with positive thinking may include “increased life span, lower rates of depression, lower levels of distress, greater resistance to the common cold, better psychological and physical well-being, better cardiovascular health, reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.”

Re-configuring the way you interpret the ‘overwhelmingness’ of life starts with self-worth. Every person on this planet has a whole list of insecurities. These self-doubts are what cause us to criticize others.

It is important to remind yourself that you have silent admirers everywhere. Trust me, people walk by you and wish they had your bright smile, your quick humor, your loud laugh, your ease, your sensitive heart or even just you.

Finding love for yourself allows you to bring out appreciation for others.

It is a shame that at Oak Park — and in society altogether — it is more acceptable to hate yourself than to love, to make deprecating comments rather than loving ones or to put others down rather than cheer them on.

Once you have accepted yourself, you are able to grow. According to a Success.com article by Larry Alton, a writer who is no stranger to writing about success and attitude, the first “practical step” to achieving a positive mindset is to “start your day with a positive affirmation.”

This seems ridiculous, but it holds true. Waking up and thinking to yourself, “I am going to make the most of every minute of this day” will no doubt lead to a more successful future than the person who wakes up and thinks, “I am so tired. I hate school. I hate everyone.” This personality change may not make all the difference in one day, but overtime it’s bound to lead to a prosperous life.

The second step is “focusing on the good things, however small.” This is just a less cliché version of ‘focus on the silver lining.’ The importance of this saying is immense. Paying attention to the subtle positive outlooks can make or break a situation.

Let’s say you are just having the worst day, a never-ending fleet of horrors and your worst nightmares come to life. You failed your chemistry quiz, you were late to third period and you left your Spanish homework at home. Just writing this gives me anxiety.

In this situation, it is important to take a step back, look around, and think to yourself how insignificant this one mess up is in the grand scheme of things. Rather than let a few unfortunate events get you down, focus on how fortunate you are to be in the place you are right now, and how many promising things the future holds.

Look at how lucky we are to be living in such a beautiful place, attending arguably one of the best schools in California, surrounded by teachers and mentors who want nothing more than for us to be happy and successful.

The sixth step according to Alton is to “focus on the present — not today, not this hour, only this exact moment.” Let’s say last night, you saw a post on Instagram about you that says nothing
but mean things. That post is not the present. Forget about the irrelevant opinions of others and do not allow unnecessary toxicity cloud your thoughts.

Again, Alton writes in the sixth step that “most sources of negativity stem from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential future event. Stay in the present moment.” Always remember that what others say does not define you. Don’t pollute your body by absorbing the negative energy around you.

Look, I know us Oak Park kids have an affinity for the argument that somehow negativity surrounded by stress is the motivation to get good grades, and that our lives will be over if we don’t get into Stanford.

Now, your grade point average is nevertheless important, but that number doesn’t define your character. Without gratification, charisma, happiness, optimism and confidence, you will never truly be successful or satisfied in life.

Here’s the deal: We are a unique breed of overachieving teens that just want to succeed, no matter the cost. But, at the end of the day, life should be all about positivity. The human brain is incapable of being grateful and angry at the same time. We need to reduce the toxic culture and build another one of optimism and acceptance.