The Sunny Girl

How sunny is your life?

Hi there! I’m the Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook, and I’m so excited to welcome you to The Sunny Side Up! Happiness is an essential part of my life; in fact it is my biggest goal in life. And according to the general consensus of the other six billion people on the planet, I’ll bet happiness is a central part of your life as well. However, we all know that happiness does not necessarily come easily—our eggs don’t always turn out “sunny side up.” Sometimes they’re burned, rotten, undercooked, or the yolk breaks—just like many events in our daily lives.

Yet I am convinced that we can be happy no matter how our eggs, or life, may be cooked. Whether or not you see happiness as being a choice or inherent, many of us see happiness only as a future goal and not as something that should be actively strived for on a daily basis. It is my belief that happiness must be practiced and sought after; it does not necessarily come naturally or without intended effort. Here’s the good news, though: happiness is habitual. If we are willing to put the extra time, dedication, and mindset to it, I believe anyone can experience a notable increase in their level of happiness.

In this next year I will be writing my first book, The Sunny Side Up, where I will focus on the 13 topics that affect happiness for young adults. Not a spring chicken? That’s perfectly okay—your wisdom and life experience is something to be shared with a younger generation and I think that you’ll still be able to glean a great deal of happiness from this website. And to the teens and young adults—I am so glad that you are here! All of you are such an inspiration to me and I think it is crucial that we share our passions, thankfulness, and happiness with the world!

I invite you to take a bite of the Sunny Side Up: write your 5 Daily Gratitudes, create your own Sunny Set, and read the daily posts. Happiness never tasted so good.

Keep shining,

The Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook

The Scoop on the Sunny Girl:

1. I am currently a sophomore at UCLA where I am planning on majoring in Psychology and Communications.

2. I am a member of Chi Omega and I treasure my sorority sisters!

3. I was Miss Teen California 2007 and I placed 3^rd runner up at the national pageant.

4. I absolutely adore my Chocolate Point, Applehead, Siamese cat, Kiko.

5. I am very passionate about the American Cancer Society. I have personally raised over $30,000 for the organization and I have led over 500 students in the past five years on Relay for Life teams.

6. My hero is Julie Andrews. I admire her timeless grace and poise.

7. My friends are the sunshine in my life. My best friend, Lauren, has been my soul sister since we were in floatation devices and I will also have a special place in my heart for my Big Sister, Kelly, who welcomed me with true compassion and love when I first came to UCLA.

8. I am a dessert connoisseur: cheesecake, crème brulee, carrot cake, and gelato—I could go on…

9. I have volunteered over 1,000 hours of community service with National Charity League, a mother-daughter organization that serves local communities.

10. I could never get sick of watching Father of the Bride, Beaches, Legally Blonde, Sabrina, or Ghost. Yes, I know they are all the epitome of the “chick flick.” My excuse: I am chick, gosh darn it!

11. I treasure my family more than anything. I am an only child and because of that, I have fostered a very close relationship with my parents.

12. I have terrible scoliosis; my spine looks like an anaconda slithering through the rainforest. At first this was a great challenge to my happiness but I’ve since learned to embrace my creative back.

13. My dream is to become an author and motivational speaker so that I can help people be as happy as they can possibly be. I have joined Toastmasters so that I can practice, practice, and practice more! I love what I get to do and it makes me so happy on a daily basis.