15 of my favorite feelings

In light of the recent Vlogbrother's video titled "15 of My Favorite Feelings," I thought I would follow suit with the positivity and discuss my own favorites. This won't be terribly deep, but sometimes you just need a little light-hearted optimism in your life, despite having the rest of the world throw jaded cynicism at you (bitter? Who, me?).

1) Cuddling.
Sure, this is sappy and girly, but honestly, it's trendy amongst females for a reason. And it's not romance-specific either. My friend Megan and I have perfected the art of drunk cuddling, which is not for the faint of heart. But if you want to get sappy and romantic with me, one of my all time favorite feelings is falling asleep mid-cuddle with someone you really love. Fortunately for me, my pillow pet has been a loyal cuddle buddy since day one of college. #foreveralone

2) When you finally finish a writing project.
It doesn't happen often, but that rush of euphoria after finishing a story/script/series of rants will never get old. This is especially nice when the project has nothing to do with school--although I won't argue that I don't love that sigh of relief when I crank out the final draft of a fifteen page Shakespeare essay.

3) Conversely, when you get an idea for a project.
This honestly works better when other people are involved. I get excited by solo ideas, but I'm rarely motivated to finish them. However, when 50% of the idea is someone else's, I feel obliged to finish the task. It doesn't hurt that I also get to squeal and whoop in public places with said project partner and look like complete idiots together.

4) Back scratches
This is like getting a massage, listening to Enya, and eating ice cream all at once. 

5) Dancing when nobody's watching.
 As our generation becomes more and more immersed in social media, it feels like there's no activity that's left un-documented. This is nice for the memory-loss prone such as myself, but there's also something liberating about doing something just for yourself--especially when said thing unleashes your inner goofball. 

6) Eating chocolate therapy ice cream
Ben & Jerry knows. It always knows. 

7) Drinking water after a long workout
I'm not gonna lie, I don't love the taste of water. But after I've poured out buckets of sweat on the treadmill (my nemesis), there's nothing more refreshing than a huge gulp of water--even better when it's followed by a massive cookie and/or cupcake. 

8) Being the example in class
There's no way to sound this without sounding like a giant narcissist, but I've been the "example" in more than zero college classes, and let's just say a little external validation never hurt anyone. 

9) Hip-cracking
My version of knuckle cracking. Because I'm actually eighty years old. 

10) Running around in the rain
Because I'm actually five years old. 

11) Finishing a good book

12) Having an intense (but good) conversation
Anything related to politics, philosophy, or identity, and I feel like I'm in heaven. 

13) Freshly washed hair

14) Writing on a chalkboard
This is something that literally every student in my second grade classroom fought over. We planned pretend classes during recess just so that we could write on the chalkboard. I'm not sure why it's so satisfying, but until the chalk squeaks, everything is wonderful. 

15) Sleeping in a freshly made bed
Extra points if I've been away from home for a while and feel like I'm going to fall over from sleep exhaustion.