The At Least Journal

Recognition

I am so grateful for my family, my
teachers, and those who have been
supporting me/praying for me for a

long time!

Thank you dad for writing in this
book as well! I love you :)

The “At Least Journal Description Page 5

Something Serious to Note Page 6

Daily Suggestions! Page 7

Daily Suggestions Description Page 8

General and Specific Quotes Description Page 16

General Quotes Page 17

Holidays! Page 18

Seasons! Page 27

Times of the Day! Page 34

Regular “At Least” Quotes Page 39

Specific Quotes! Page 52

Quotes about Friendships! Page 53

Quotes about Losses! Page 58

Quotes about School/Work! Page 63

Quotes about Emotions! Page 68

Quotes about Family! Page 73

Quotes about Family Description Page 74

Make your Own Quotes! Page 79

Make your own Quotes Description Page 80



The point of the “At Least” journal is to give you a sense of
confidence and a burst of energy every day and to reverse the
effects of what I like to call the “crummy day” effect: a bad
event that ruins the entire day. The crummy day effect seems to
be an issue in our daily lives because no matter how many good
things happen in our day, one bad event (ex: waking up on the
wrong side of the bed, or realizing that summer is almost over
and school is going to start, or your best friend decided to hang
out with the “more popular” people and turned on you by
calling you a “loser” in front of her new friends to look cool,
which, by the way, never happened to me if you were
wondering) could ruin the entire day. I hope that this book at
least helps you in some way, shape, or form if you are someone
who has more sad days in the year than happy ones. If you
haven’t read this book yet and you need something
motivational, then this is the book for you! Have fun, and
remember to smile!

~ Paula Sefia :D

An important thing to note is that I am not
trying to command you to do anything in this
book. I am only giving personal advice for
more joyful days. I also hope you don’t think
that I am not a victim of the “crummy day
effect”. As I have mentioned multiple times
throughout this book in various different
ways, I am just like you. I get mad, I (rarely, for
some reason) get externally stressed, and my
biggest weakness is frustration. This book is
written in a way to not just help you, but to
help me as well to see the positive outlook on
a bad situation. Now that the serious things
have been noted, let’s start reading!



Before you read the quotes, I
highly encourage reading this
part of the book if you are
too busy to read quotes or
you are not a big fan of
reading. You can look at the
daily suggestions whenever
you want, and I hope you
enjoy!

1. Pick a number from 1 to 5 (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5).
2. Add 9 to your number.
3. Multiply that number by 5.
4. Add 7 to that number.
5. Lastly, divide your number by 4 and round to

the nearest integer.

Now, what is your number?
(It might be great to note now that I love math)

If your number is 14 (AKA 14.25), then go to the 4th
suggestion.

If your number is 16 (AKA 15.5), then go to the 1st
suggestion.

If your number is 17 (AKA 16.75), then go to the 2nd
suggestion.

If your number is 18, then go to the 5th suggestion.

If your number is 19 (AKA 19.25) then go to the 3rd
suggestion.

1ST SUGGESTION

Your job is to say a
compliment to yourself
that you have never said

before!

2ND SUGGESTION

Your job is to tell yourself
something you do not like that
you do, and promise yourself

that you will fix said thing!

Example:
I always get frustrated when something constantly

does not work.

3RD SUGGESTION

Your job is to make a list
of your top 5 talents

(in any way you choose)!

4TH SUGGESTION

Your job is to reflect on someone
in your life you know is your role

model!

Guiding Questions
1. Who is your role model?
2. What did they do/what are they doing that made/

make them your role model?

5TH SUGGESTION

Your job is to create a pie
chart of your top 1-5
emotions that you feel
today!

The difference between the General and Specific
quotes is that the general quotes are quotes
pertaining to almost everyone (ex: “Spring”) while
the specific quotes are targeted towards people
according to the different categories (ex: people
struggling with friendships). I tried to relate most of
the specific quotes to the issues that are prominent
in the 21st century (if any of you still read paper
books in the 22nd century). Something that you
might find strange but is kind of recurrent in this
book is that I like to understand what the future
has in store, even though I am not sure what the
future will be like. I’ll stop writing about my love of
trying to understand the future now so you can
start reading!





“At least it’s New Year’s Eve! Get ready
for a new year because the possibilities

are endless!”

It’s December 31st (unless they changed the date
for New Year’s Eve, but who knows!), and you know
what that means! The year is coming to a close,
and it’s time to reflect on the spectacular (and the
not so spectacular) things that were done during
the year. Whether it’s 2019 or 2057 or even 3051
(if books are still present during that time; I bet
nooks wouldn’t even exist then), it’s important to
remember the new year coming soon brings about
hope for more beautiful memories and spectacular
events to come!

“At least it’s a new year!
New Year, New You!”

The new year is finally here! Like the “At
Least” quote says, it’s finally the new year
which brings about hope for another
spectacular one! Maybe try to do a hobby
you’ve never done before or haven't done in
a while this year. The entire year is yours!
Make it yours by spreading positivity
wherever you go! You got this! This will be a
great year just like all the others!

“At least it’s Valentine’s Day! Have fun
spreading love wherever you go during

this holiday!”

For all the couples out there, try to spend this day getting to
truly know each other if you are in different schools, you and
your spouse/date work all the time in different jobs, or if you
barely spend time with them. Spend this day wisely because
it might be one of the only days you get to present your love
to your mate. Now for all the single people out there, don’t
complain or be depressed that you don't have a date/spouse
yet. There are plenty of fish in the vast ocean (mind you,
some oceans are about 10,000 km deep with quite a lot of
fish). Try and put yourself out there. If that doesn’t work,
then you can celebrate by yourself. At least you get a nice day
by yourself (with chocolates as well, if applicable)!

“At least it’s St. Patrick’s Day! I hope
you will be very lucky this year!”

Even though some people don’t celebrate
St. Patrick’s day, it’s nice to feel lucky
sometimes. Many people feel sometimes
that fate decided to discuss with every
potential unlucky event ever possible just
to make them mad, but this is not the case.
Even if the worst thing ever happened to
you, you are not unlucky. You are special
and unique, and most importantly, lucky.

“At Least it’s Halloween! If you like to
go Trick-or-Treating, then go out and

have some fun!”

Halloween is my 3rd favorite holiday because even
though everywhere looks spooky at night and I hate
jump scares, I am allowed to eat as much candy as I
want and I can dress up (and yes, I still dress up). If
you are like me and you don’t like the spooky
atmosphere, then try going out to buy a treat you’ve
never tried before (even if that means a piece of
candy) or a treat that you haven't had in years (with
permission from your parents if needed. I give you
permission to say, “Paula says I should eat some
candy today!”)

“At least it’s Thanksgiving! It’s im-
portant to spend time with family once

in a while for a big meal!”

This may seem like a short one, but the
word “Thanksgiving” speaks for itself. For
those who do or don’t celebrate
Thanksgiving, just remember that it is
important to remember and to keep in
mind everything that you are thankful for
this year. The year is almost over, which
means that there are many things to be
grateful for! Happy Thanksgiving!

“At least it’s Christmas Eve! As we reach
December, the festive atmosphere kicks in! If

that doesn’t make you happy, then what

I find myself enjoying Christmas Eve more
than Christmas itself (and the Eve of many
holidays rather than the holiday itself)
because of the atmosphere and the joyful
vibes that come with the preparation of the
celebration. It is important to find out what
part of a holiday makes you happy so that
could help you have more happy days
throughout the year! I hope you enjoy this
Christmas Eve as much as I do!

“At least it’s Christmas! It’s one of the
best days of the year in my opinion! I

hope it is for you too!”

It’s finally Christmas everyone! From
the beautiful snow (if it snows where
you are) to the carols to the
celebration of Jesus’ birth, it’s a
great time of year to be joyful! Even
if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I
hope you have a happy and joyful
day today!



“At least it’s the winter! Hopefully it won’t
be too cold and the snow will look nice (if
it gets cold and it snows where you live)”

The winter is a great time of year! If you ever feel crummy
during the winter or your car gets stuck during a bad
snowstorm, take a deep breath and relax. Try to remember
this: the winter is the time to take some time to enjoy
yourself, while working hard on whatever has to get done.
Think of the snow as you: each flake is unique and
beautiful and joins the giant pile of snow (the human
population). You should enjoy the winter (your life)
because one day, the snow would melt and turn into water,
which will help to feed the blooming plants during spring
(decomposition). Let’s enjoy the winter while the snow is
still there!

“At least it’s Spring!
Isn’t nature beautiful?”

As the snow melts and the flowers start to
bloom, don’t let the immense amount of rain
make you depressed! It’s not just the sun
that helps the flowers grow after all! There
are so many fun things to do in the rain
(jumping in puddles, spinning small
umbrellas like tops, etc.), so why don’t we
just enjoy it instead of letting ourselves get
depressed from a natural occurrence?

“At least it’s Summer! It’s finally time
to relax and enjoy the sunshine!”

Barely anyone I know gets crummy during the
summer. If you are in a boring summer camp that
your parents forced you to attend, maybe you’ll enjoy
it if you make some new friends! If it’s too hot in the
workplace, during your lunchbreak, ask your boss if
some work colleagues could join you in some water
balloon games outside the building! If you’re going to
a fascinating country for the 4th time, don’t be sad.
You’re going to another country! Not many people
have the opportunity to do that! Enjoy this summer
and all the summers to come!

“At least it’s Fall! The leaves are truly
beautiful at this time!”

I understand that Fall is not a season most
people enjoy. School starts after a
short-feeling summer, work becomes
harder since summer is over, etc. There are
still ways to enjoy Fall though! The leaves
always look beautiful and collecting acorns
is not as bad as you think! Try to enjoy Fall
to the best of your ability, and I wish you
good luck in school and in your job!

“At least it’s your half birthday!
Happy half birthday!”

If you don’t know, your half birthday is the
day that is exactly 6 months after your
birthday. Many people don’t celebrate this
day because they think that it’s not as
important as their actual birthday (I’ve
been guilty of this for a while), but it’s
important to celebrate it if every day for
you is crummy so you can have less crum-
my days and more happy ones!

“At least it’s your birthday!
Happy birthday!”

As you turn a year older, I hope you enjoy this
special time of the year where you age by one
year. Even if no one remembers your birthday, just
know that I remembered :) Happy birthday! Enjoy
this day because it only comes once a year! I hope
you will continue to have a great year along with a
great life! We don’t know what will happen in the
future, so it’s important to enjoy days like these
where you celebrate your birthday!



“At least it’s Morning! Good morning,
and I wish you good luck on this new

day!”

You have been blessed with the gift of
waking up every morning, and it’s
important to remember that (you can out
loud if that makes your day before it even
starts). If it’s hard to get out of bed,
shower, eat, and start your day, just
remember that every day is a new day to
make possible unforgettable memories and
achievements!

“At least it’s the afternoon! School’s al-
most over for the day and it’s almost

time to clock out!”

Even if work’s felt long or school’s felt
longer, at least you have something to
do every day! It’s better to be productive
than to be bored after all! Just work
hard and some time soon, it will end for
the day and you can probably go home
(unless you have clubs, sports, 2nd jobs,
etc. but try to enjoy the productivity!)

“At least it’s evening! Good
evening!”

It’s probably that time of the
day where things wind down,
and it’s important to rest
sometime (usually this is the
best time to relax during a busy
day).

“At least it’s night time! It’s time to get
ready to sleep, but if you have to do an

all-nighter, I’m here for you!”

Goodnight, sleep tight, and you’ll have a great
day tomorrow, right? If you can’t sleep, try to
take deep breaths and focus on those
breaths. If you have to pull an all-nighter, just
make sure that you find some time to sleep
because sleep is very important. Just make
sure you get that project done or you study
well for that test tomorrow so pulling an
all-nighter can be worth it. Good luck!



“At least it’s a new day!”

The alarm rings. You groan and get up, realizing you
have that important business meeting today, or you
have 2 tests today you forgot to study for because
you fell asleep while doing your homework at 1:00
am, or you realize that today will be a slow day. It’s
important to plan for the future, but sometimes,
just reflect on what is happening to you in the
present. Right now, you just started a fresh new
day, and you know it’s going to be a great day be-
cause you know that if you think of the good things
throughout the day, it will give you a positive
outlook on the day!

“At least you have something to do, no
matter what you are doing right now!”

If you ever feel bored, I recommend finding a hobby! If
your son or daughter has been sitting on the couch for
hours and you are concerned that they are about to
start senior year, try to encourage them to get a hobby
(like a job or an internship or a new sport/instrument).
This applies for everyone, not just kids! If you decided to
be a stay at home mom and you quit your job, try to
volunteer or find something fun and productive to do
while the kids are at school! Or you can make their day
by preparing a surprise for them! I recommend looking
at their faces to see how happy they would be seeing
your awesome surprise for them!

“At least you know how beautiful you
are!”

Even as a 10th Grader, I’ve seen many insecure people! I
always thought this was cliché (you probably think this
whole book is cliché, now that I think about it) but it’s
important to recognize how beautiful you are. You cannot
control how you look on the inside, aka beyond the
makeup (unless you get plastic surgery, but that’s besides
the point), so instead of beating yourself up and telling
yourself that you look ugly, why don’t you comfort yourself
and tell yourself that you are beautiful just the way you
are. Don’t worry if you think you’ll never find that date
you’re looking for! There are plenty of people out there
who would love your look, personality, etc. Who knows?
They’re probably looking for a person like you too!

“At least you know that you have so
many gifts/talents!”

No matter who you are, no matter how you feel about yourself,
and no matter what you can/cannot do, you have talents. The
thing is, what do you do with them? You could have hidden
talents, or you could have talents that you haven't used for a long
time! From personal experience, I played in a soccer team from
when I was 3 to when I was about 5-8, and I hadn’t joined a team
after that until I was in 8th grade. Although I didn’t continue in
high school, another hidden talent was discovered. I used to
fence foil with my sister, but in 9th grade, I had to switch to sabre
because there weren’t enough people. Who knew I was better at
sabre than foil? Enough about me. Find something you haven't
done in a while and try to do it. Maybe that’ll be your talent if
you strongly believe you don’t have one!

“At least you are able to produce
dopamine!”

If you think I sound like a crazy pharmacist, then you
are wrong. Dopamine is a hormone that is triggered
from happy or rewarding situations! I may be wrong,
but I’m a 10th grader; I’m still learning :D Without
dopamine, we would always feel depressed or
dejected. Why don’t we recognize the hormones in
our body that make us feel happy or rewarded once
in a while? Thinking of this is usually hard for me
especially whenever I have a “crummy day” effect, so
we are both combatting sadness together!

“At least the sun exists so we don’t
freeze as much as we would without

it!”

It’s always nice to be thankful for the little
things that could make our day a little bit
brighter (pun intended)! The sun converts
hydrogen to helium and burns at about 5
thousand degrees Celsius so that the Earth
would get warmth and not freeze! The Earth
is also at a perfect distance from the sun so
we wouldn’t burn! Isn’t that a blessing of its
own?

“At least we are given a perfect planet
to live on!”

Before I start this reflection, please try to find a
way to tell me if people have traveled to other
planets by the time you’re alive! The Earth is
perfect for livestock, and is the one planet
(besides Mars, remember to tell me if people
have made it there) in our solar system that has
the perfect temperature for human life to
flourish, the perfect soil for agriculture, and has
the perfect amount of wind, atmosphere, and
oxygen! Earth is perfect, don’t you think?

“At least the trees, flowers, and plants
are beautiful!”

You may have read the seasons section, but if you
feel sad that it’s raining or the trees have lost all
of its leaves, etc., just remember that these
processes are nature taking its course. Plants look
beautiful (especially in pictures) after a big
rainstorm, and trees look especially beautiful
after a snowstorm (especially if they are leafless)!
I believe looking at how detailed every plant
looks would make you at least a little bit happy!

“At least you have a family!”

Everyone has a family, in my opinion. No matter how
small or big your immediate family is, how distant or
close it is, etc., everyone in your family loves you
(even if they don’t express it or if they say they hate
you)! For those who believe they don’t have a family,
at least you HAD one because (from what I know) it’s
not possible for you to be biologically born without
parents! Also, according to binomial nomenclature for
all you science fanatics, we are all from the same
family (and genus and species)!

“At least you have a body, no matter
how big or small it is!”

No matter how small or big your body is,
no matter how many deformities it has,
and no matter how you feel about your
body, it’s still a blessing that it’s your
body! Embrace your body even if it gives
you cramps, some bones break, etc. I want
you to compliment your body at least
twice everyday if your currently hate it!

“At least you have a brain!”

During the beginning of 10th Grade, I thought my
brain wasn’t computing the information that I
was giving it. That was a problem. If you ever felt
how I feel, just know that this reflection (like
many others) will be for both of us. Our brains
process approximately 2 petabytes of
information! Our brains barely run out of data, so
just keep that in mind the next time you don’t
think your brain is not working properly.