I am a firm believer in the little things in life.

Like when you open up a Dum-Dum and on the wrapper it says, YOU ARE A WINNER! Even though it turns out that you haven’t won a week-long cruise in the Caribbean, and that the Grand Prize is just another dozen free Dum-Dums (which you doubt you’ll ever see), you still feel happy. A lollipop complimented you. Your day is made.

A personal example for me was when I visited the Holocaust museum on a field trip in eighth grade. After zipping through the exhibits (which wasn’t my fault – I didn’t know you couldn’t go backwards) I was left in a seating area at the end of the tour waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. I rested my head on my hands and studied the white wall opposite. People walked through my line of vision, but I didn’t notice them. I was too bored.

Suddenly a man passing by stopped in front of me and asked, pointing to the wall, “What do you see there?”

Without missing a beat, I replied, “A white cat in the snow.”

The man grinned. “Good answer!” he said, and he walked away.

Even now, I don’t know where that particular burst of wit came from. I can only assume that the God of Snappy Dialogue was feeling charitable that day. Whatever the cause, that little one-up still makes me smile. It’s a tiny achievement, to be sure, but it’s the tiny achievements that fill up the time between big ones.

I think that everyone should take happiness in the little things. Whether it’s a winning candy wrapper or a small personal victory, they make life worth living.