My name is Courtney Avrit and I am a senior at Vistamar School in El Segundo, California. During my final semester of high school for my senior project I was inclined to reach out to AWBW after hearing about it from a family friend. I am passionate about mental health and am studying psychology at Santa Clara University next year. I also have had a love of art and creative expression from a young age. This organization seemed to perfectly blend these two interests of mine, creating a safe environment to create art in hopes of helping people heal from traumatic life events. 

This project gave me the opportunity to learn about and support AWBW’s work using art to bring sustainable transformation, and I even got to create an interactive art journey called “The Happiness Project.” 

My overarching desire for this project was to create ongoing positive shifts in mindset with the people around me and expressing it within an art piece. I was inspired by my love for sunsets, something I enjoy painting, and finding the connection between them and how people think. 

I asked various people in my life the question, “What made you smile today?” Everyone has a small thing that makes them smile everyday, and it’s different for each person. Just like sunsets happen everyday, but never are two the exact same. A big part of bringing contentment into life is being able to reflect on the little joys throughout life that add up to create a greater sense of true happiness. 

My piece is representative of individuals’ joy and the underlying feelings they get from pondering about what made them smile each day. I’m encouraging a journey within oneself to appreciate the goodness of life through gratitude. 

It was beautiful to see each individual’s experience with bringing this question into their day to day lives. As part of the web of this project I welcome and encourage you to join the journey yourself and I’ve included the packet and worksheet in the pictures below.