Box of sunshine: The key to making someone’s day


Brittany Fleck | Daily Trojan

Brittany Fleck | Daily Trojan

Happiness is part of health, and nothing brings more happiness than a gift when you least expect it. Last week, one of my friends was dealing with some family issues and having a really hard time during school. I wanted to do something nice for her to turn her week around and I came across the most adorable gift idea called a little box of sunshine.

It’s incredibly easy and perfect for cheering a friend up during finals time. A Box of Sunshine is just what it like sounds — a box of yellow things that provide comfort and happiness to make someone smile. I went to our local USC stores a.k.a. CVS, Fresh & Easy, Goodwill and the USC bookstore in search of any kind of fun yellow items. I ended up getting yellow candies, like peanut M&M’s, Mr. Goodbar, Juicy Fruit and Sour Patch Kids. I looked for yellow things I thought she would actually use — nail polish, a journal, some cute yellow jewelry, pencils, chap stick and some other fun little things. Check out the pictures below for more ideas. Also put the print out the little sign on and put it on it. Something so small like this can go a long way and can really make somebody’s day.

In addition to this box of sunshine, there are of course millions of things you can do to make someone’s day during finals time. Here is a list of a few small things that can go a long way.

  • Fold a stranger’s laundry when you see that it is done drying
  • Buy the person behind you in TroGro a coffee or if you have dining dollars to spend, buy the person behind you’s food.
  • Leave an anonymous note in someone’s study space when they get up to go to the bathroom
  • Place post-its on the bathroom in Leavy, Doheny and Taper
  • Put some Hershey kisses into people’s bike baskets

Happy studiers equal more successful students.

Brittany Fleck is a sophomore majoring in human development and aging. Her column, “B-Flecksible,” runs Fridays. 

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