There are several things that have changed the way I perceive life and the way I attain happiness. One thing is a blog someone had me read called "12 Things Happy People Do Differently".  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-sokol-/things-happy-people-do_b_3869793.html

After reading this list of 12 things, I began to realize how easy it is to be happy. This blog provides a brief explanation of each of the steps, and it has a logical understanding that goes along with each of them. I began sharing this blog with other people when I found myself in a discussion where they felt lost or unsure on how to reach happiness. As someone who likes to help others as much as I can, I tell them about this blog. I was so set on how useful it is, I even wrote all of them down and I have them hanging in my vanity mirror just to make sure to know them every day. 

Another thing that helped me a lot was a song. There are SO many songs that help me stay happy (including the one I'm listening to right now called Sing A Song by Earth Wind and Fire). But this song didn't necessarily make me happy, it just made me realize that I need to appreciate every moment I have. This song is Time by Pink Floyd. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL3AgkwbYgo

The lyrics of this song are basically saying that we wait too long to start living our lives or to be happy, while we end up wasting all that time. There's a line "And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again", which I interpret as saying that we always look for something to make us happy. We tell ourselves "oh, when it's my birthday I'll be happy", or "when I have a car is when I'll be happy". We're constantly placing happiness somewhere in front of us, but when we finally reach that moment when we tell ourselves we will be happy, we once again look for something else. It's kind of an endless cycle, but I think it's human nature to never be satisfied. So listening to this song, and truly understanding its lyrics made me realize that I need to start being happy now. I can't waste my life away wishing for something else to happen. Each moment is passing us by and if we don't take advantage of every one of those moments, we end up wasting it all. And if you waste your life away, that means that you never truly lived. My advice: live each moment for what it's worth, and stop waiting to be happy. Be happy now.