In my bedroom, directly across from the foot of my bed, hangs a gigantic collage. It’s roughly five and a half feet long and a couple feet tall. It’s made up of hundreds of images, some of them found on the internet, some of them of family, some even taken by yours truly. It’s the first thing I see every morning and one of the last things I see at night. Its one and only purpose is to make me happy — it’s not a decoration; a way to brighten up a beige wall. It’s there because it serves a function.

It’s my Wall of Happiness. I started making one about a year and a half ago after I started following Youtuber Lilly Singh, also known as  iiSuperwomanii. I was sifting through some of her older videos and came across one challenging her followers to create what she dubbed a Wall of Happiness. The Wall is simply a mass of pictures that make you happy — no explanation needed.

I won’t lie, I thought the idea was kitschy at best, messy at worst. No rhyme or reason to something you hang on a wall besides it “making you happy” meant that color schemes would get thrown out of the window. My careful decorating system would be completely upset — the idea of that made me cringe.

Perhaps this is why I took Singh up on her challenge, I needed to get creative, color outside of the lines, splash some proverbial paint on the walls. I don’t really know, or remember, my reasoning, but before I knew it, I had ordered prints of some of my favorite pins on Pinterest and taped them haphazardly to the wall.

My Wall of Happiness has taken on a life of its own — it’s like a plant, constantly growing so long as I remember to nurture it. I’ve forgotten half of what’s on it, meaning I always feel like I’m looking at something different when I pause to examine it.

The Wall has actually affected my moods. I wake up on a good note and have a distraction on bad days. I use it to distract myself from bad thoughts simply by looking at the pictures. If my anxiety is acting up, I start working on expanding the Wall again. Somehow, something so simple has become almost a hobby, and definitely a part of my life.

I’ve passed the idea on to some friends and family, and they report the same success. Each Wall is as unique as they are. Some are covered with nerdy references, some are covered with Monet’s waterlilies. Mine is a combo of snark and geek with a dash of vulgar and a pinch of quirky.

The best part about the Wall is how there is no judgement involved. The pictures pasted to the cardboard (after my Wall grew to be larger than a square foot I decided to make it a more permanent fixture) are there because they make me happy. I don’t have to worry about the logic behind what I pick — this was part of the challenge of creating a Wall…and admittedly part of the appeal.

For example, on picture on my Wall makes light fun of people who go to the gym daily — a handspan away is a picture encouraging daily visits to the gym. They directly contradict each other, something that would have my biting my nails in frustration were it to occur anywhere else. But on my wall, they both make me happy. The joke reminds me not to take myself too seriously (and not to beat myself up when I miss a day or month at the gym) while the other reminds me to love myself by taking care of myself.

So, I encourage all of you to start your own Wall of Happiness. iiSuperwomanii’s 2012 video “Superwoman’s Project + Challenge 1: Wall of Happiness” is a great place to start. Now, what are you waiting for? Go grab some tape, find a blank wall, and create your own Wall of Happiness.

Kjerstine Trooien is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].