Finding Happiness in Life’s Smallest Moments – My Design Journal

My Design Journal

Finding Happiness in Life’s Smallest Moments

I’m Shannon, and within each work, I am photographing small moments within my chaotic life that bring me happiness, and gratitude, and ground me into making me feel ALIVE AND HAPPY 💌

I went back home when I needed to get away from my life at college. Sometimes coming home to a place you know and is safe can help anyone mentally. I felt recharged mentally and physically just by going home to my childhood. This photo is a reminder to myself that the room that I adore so much at home is always there and waiting. That will never change so by capturing this photo it feels like my home is always with me and waiting till I come home again. This makes me so grateful for my family that has created that comfort for me and the wonderful home life they gave me growing up. It is weirdly comforting.

In this photo, I was enjoying the sun and getting out to get coffee with my friends. I felt happy to be present and where I was with who I was with, therefore resulting in me taking this photo.

This photo captures a time when I felt at peace and grateful for life while being with my family. I felt the need to capture this moment to hold onto that feeling. (LOVE MY BROTHER)

I took this photo when I felt like I could finally slow down and relax. I wanted to capture me time that brings me joy. Sometimes finding joy in the quiet time during your day is what is needed to make your day, it surely made my day.

Watching this little girl in Boston chasing birds was one of the most wholesome moments that I have experienced when people-watching. With her parents trailing behind, she was fully engaged with chasing ALL of the pigeons on her scooter. This made me smile in the moment because it reminded me of my childhood with my parents. But even without thinking about my childhood, the moment was so precious that everyone around was happy watching this little girl experience a carefree life

I wanted to capture a very specific moment within this photo. I was in the car blaring music with the windows down and I felt the need to capture the joy and peace I felt in that moment. By capturing the bridges at sunset I felt it was resembling the crossing between the present and the future. I felt so happy that I didn’t want this moment to end even though over the bridges it would end. By taking this photo it almost felt like I froze that moment in time to forever keep and never forget.

Being with the people I care about so much and being able to experience fireworks with them to celebrate the end of our first semester was like a dream to me. For some reason, it felt magical and I was so happy to be where I was and be present in that moment to soak it all up. I was so happy to capture this moment.

The store owner of this magical place solely made my day. Her main purpose was her kindness, insightfulness, and focus on brightening people’s day. She made me so happy just talking with her. She brought me to a room she was very proud of and was her favorite part. By taking the photo I felt like I could capture her joy in a photo and the precious look on her face when talking about why this part was her favorite.

This photo is of my teammate Keira and soon-to-be suitmate. We were having a rough day, so we went to Colt State Park to rewind and relax. It felt nice to let all the negative feelings out and be supported by the people I love and care deeply for. So when knowing we all were having a bad day and then coming here and seeing how much we all helped each other made me happy. So capturing a moment of pure happiness was the best feeling in the world.

This little message holds lots of meaning to me. When I receive cards, I put them on the wall. The messages are my inspiration to keep going in life and to keep being me. I took this photo when I was having a hard time. I just so happened to look up and saw how it was perfectly lit up so I felt like it was meant to be read and captured in that exact moment.

Little messages mean a lot to me, so when I see some that resonate with me. I take it to heart and reflect on my own life and the choices I make. This message was right in line with my 2024 New Year’s resolution of living in the moment and appreciating my life. This is also why I am doing this project as a way to help achieve this New Year’s resolution.

My mother is my home so whenever I am with her I feel happy. Our games got canceled that day and I was having a rough week so my mom and my roommate went on a little adventure. This little adventure led to us eating out by this tree which I thought my mom looked pretty under, which is why I captured this photo.

Observing someone looking out at nature’s beauty is not only a source of happiness to me, but it makes me realize that more and more people are also trying to be more present and take time to slow things down in their own lives. I felt that capturing this stranger sitting on the edge of the dock during the sunset was a perfect resemblance to what I try to capture in my photos.

I took this photo after a hard practice and I was going to my car to just drive around and relax my mind. When I was walking up the stairs within the parking garage I saw this smiley face. It was probably not meant to bring joy to others but just made to deface the wall. However, with that lighting and seeing that symbol made me grateful to be alive. If I was not aware of my surroundings and not in the present moment I would not have found joy from this and most likely would not even have seen it.

Smudge my cat is a love bug, being home and being with her is a source of comfort. So having this photo to look back on makes me feel like I always have her with me and I can feel that comfort from her from New York to Rhode Island.

This photo is of my roommate in Starbucks after a hard practice. By relaxing after an intense practice, my mood was up, and realizing that any mistake I made in that practice didn’t matter and all that mattered was the moment I was in with my roommate and getting coffee to wind down. It was a small moment but a happy one.

Nature’s natural paintings in the sky are my favorite to witness. It’s not just because of the pretty colors. It is because of each memory that comes with the photo. When I go to watch sunsets I FEEL and LISTEN to everything around me. I am fully in the present moment, fully in a state of being. I become connected with nature and myself. It is a grounding mechanism that makes me feel calm, relaxed, and just happy to simply be alive to experience moments like these.

This photo represents a quiet time in my life. In fact every time I am with my cat relaxing with him it brings me joy and safety. If I could freeze the hectic world and just cuddle with my cat all day I would. This photo captures his cuddliness and his relaxed persona. By capturing this photo I hope I was able to show the love I have for my cat within a photo.

Tommy is a curious cat that will BEG to go outside no matter the elements even if his paws are freezing and he comes in 5 seconds later. His fur will immediately spike up when its cold and he will carefully creep further and further into the snow every time. I always get a good laugh at it when he does this. So having a photo of it makes me smile and feel like I am right back in that moment of happiness watching Tommy become a puffball.

I used to hate my dorm, I hated everything and not being home in my room just made me mad. Slowly I started to like my room, but it never truly felt like home. Until one day when I was so happy to just be back in my dorm and be at what felt like “home”. This photo is when I realized how much I have changed from completely hating my dorm to how much I love it now which made me take a moment and smile. Even though it was nothing like my room back at home. I was able to recreate a sense of home with the small details I slowly added each semester.

I was shopping in Newport with some friends and I came across this message while shopping. I was able to resonate more with this message compared to other days because I was feeling body-conscious. However, by being present in the moment and being aware of what was going on around me. I was able to notice this message, and with it being right there it felt as if it was a sign and it immediately lightened my mood.

This is more of a sad photo. I took this photo because some little voice in my head told me that I would regret it if not. So I did, I was happy and relaxed being at my Home with my animals. But little did I know this was the last photo I would ever take of my dog. Because the next day she died. I am so happy to have got this photo of her in a place I dream of being when I am stressed. This photo is my happy place, and one day in heaven I pray to be taken back in time to this exact moment when this photo was taken.

People watching may be boring to others. However, I see it as a way to slow things down and give a new perspective on what life truly is. Everyone has a different life with different values. Different problems and different stresses. However, individuals keep moving forward in life and do their own things. Being able to catch an individual people watching just as I was. It made me feel happy to be in the moment and relax.

I love spring and so does my dad. I was missing him a little extra that day so I gave him a call. I was on Facetime and he happened to see this tree that was in full bloom behind me. He told me he wanted a photo of me with the tree in the background because he thought I looked pretty by it. So I did, but I also took another photo just for him. Now every time I look at this photo. I think of him and the comment he made which never fails to put a smile on my face.

This is a small little joy, but when a small message catches your eye on a day you need that message feels like someone is out there looking out for you. This photo captures that moment when I felt like someone was watching out for me letting me know it was going to be okay. I then proceeded to cry happy tears in the middle of the store, but that is beside the point.

Sometimes taking cool photos of your surroundings can make someone happy and make you feel present in the moment. Which is exactly what this photo is.

Being able to capture this moment of my dad looking out the window at the beautiful sunset was amazing. I love my dad so much so being able to capture a beautiful human being and sunset was a win-win in my opinion. Two things I love most in a photo made me so happy to be able to observe this moment and enjoy the little things.

Having my family in Florida with me as I experienced my first time playing college softball down there was the best thing that they could have done for me. Them being there for me all the time no matter what the circumstances were makes me so happy. In this photo, we were at Disney Springs grabbing coffee and food before exploring. They were there comforting me as well through some other things I had a hard time dealing with mentally which afterward made me so happy they were there and that I have them in my life.

This quiet moment of observing the geese in the water was just a beautiful moment. Even though he was very loud. The beauty of nature captured joy within me so I felt the need to capture the moment.

Solar Eclipse fun with my suitmates, something we will never get to experience again together in college. Small moments like these make me happy to be surrounded by people who I care for and can enjoy little moments with.

My roommate was missing home and her family a lot so I took a trip out to Boston to see her family with her. Not only did it bring me joy to be there exploring Boston with her and her family. But seeing how happy she was made me even happier.

Maeve running around and being a goof, but I was able to capture this cool side profile photo of her giving me the side eye that had us on our knees because of how badly we were dying of laughter.

I was walking through campus and observing the scenery and being present in the moment. Then I caught a glimpse of a cute little moment of love from other individuals. In that moment I realized that life is truly beautiful and so is each individual.

Reminders that the sport we play is just a game and that Athletes are people too. Having a team that is very supportive and puts mental health before is something a lot of other teams do not do. I am a very bring mental health advocate for athletes because it is not talked about enough,

I took this photo with Maeve by my side both staring into my camera to get the right angle to capture the beauty of the plants at that exact moment when the sun hit the plants just right. When I got this photo we both looked at each other and smiled because it was THE photo we wanted.

I LOVE CATS, and this little kitten had me smiling the WHOLE time I was playing with the little kitten. I could nto stop smiling after I left because I was so happy to be with the little kitten. If you can not tell, I love cats.

Even though this is a photo of softballs, this was a small moment within my day that brought me joy. I was with my roommate doing work study for our team and the work made me be able to separate myself from the work and stress of my life and really relax and appreciate truly being.

I took this photo to remember my first home-opener softball game. I was very nervous but by taking this photo I remembered that I am with these supportive women who are loving and we are all playing together. I felt joy in this moment knowing it was going to be okay.

The day before this photo was taken was a day I was mentally struggling. I needed to help myself somehow. The day this photo was taken I and all my friends went to Colt State Park to do some homework. We all then decided to watch the sunset go down afterward. After people watching and taking in what life truly is without all the stress. It helped me realize that no matter what happens, the people that I am with now love me for who I am. So capturing this sunset was like capturing that bitter-sweet feeling.

Drawing is one of the most relaxing things that I tend to take for granted. Especially when it is due for school. However, in this specific moment, I was able to breathe step back from the due dates, and just do something I enjoy doing. The happiness that radiated from me once I was able to do this had an immense presence on me at the time. I was overwhelmed with joy knowing that I was doing something I loved to do for an assignment in college.