Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good whine every once and awhile, but constant complaining, the nagging incessant kind that ends up dragging your day down along with the complainer--that has to stop.

Because, really, what good are you doing yourself by complaining? Describing to people how my life sucks really does not make my life feel any better, in fact it merely emphasizes the point when the people nod in agreement instead of offering any ray of hope to pierce my dismal aura. A negative attitude only brings about negativity, and I have never been a fan of the negative thoughts.

Of course, though, whenever I get too fed up with the complaints and I mention to the person that they'll just have to "suck it up" to some extent, I receive in return a glare and a "you don't really know what I'm going through" speech, of which I also despise. Do I know in particular what you are going through? No. Have I been in worse situations than having a couple midterms in a week? Yes. Could things be worse? Yes, yes they could.

In fact, this is how I cope with my negativity, and I will offer it up as a tip.

Whenever I feel my chipper mood slipping, I take my pen and I draw a smiley face on one of my fingers. Sometimes it's just a simple smiley, other times I go a bit overboard and give him/her eyebrows, a nose, and even some freckles. In the end, the effect is the same. Sometime throughout the rest of your day, you will look at your hand, be reminded of the tiny insignificance of your two midterms in the big scheme of your life, and smile (I practically giggled once). Do this, and I swear it will yield results. Your money back guaranteed ;)