I went to my childhood home in upstate New York recently and allowed my imagination to run away with itself. I am no stranger to the nostalgic reverie that has me walking in a near semi-conscious state through my old stomping grounds – the woods, fields, winding country roads.… But this time I allowed myself to fantasize as a character in a novel.

A great way to get in touch with what truly makes you happy is to think back to when you were a young kid with “nothing to do.” What did you do to entertain yourself? Did you build forts out of furniture and blankets? Did you listen to music and try to sing or play along? Did you draw or redesign your room or closet? Did you read? The activities that made the time slip away without notice are the things that we need to be doing more of in our adult life. If they made our hearts smile back in the day, they are sure to do the same today. Some things are obvious, like reading or singing. If you liked it then, you like it now. But what if building blanket forts in the dining room was your bliss?

"Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the signs?" This was one of my favorite songs growing up. As a very young girl it was just a catchy folk song on the radio. As a teenager, the rebellious lyrics appealed to me.

Jonna Shutowick is a high school teacher for the Palm Beach County school district. She has created a character named Rosey Shades TM, whose philosophy teaches students about the importance of choosing optimism over pessimism by asking, “What color are the clouds in your world? For more information, visit www.

A sleepless night can be a blessing. I am not sure why my body suddenly becomes restless now at three a.m. but I would bet it has something to do with age.