As Talk Talk once wisely told us, life’s what you make it. When we look at the world through the lens of permanent doom and gloom, it’s inevitable that we’re not going to enjoy it very much. Mundane, repetitive, and yes, crappy as existence can be, it’s how we choose to handle it that determines how much enjoyment we experience.

That’s where the handy skill of romanticization comes in. Those rose colored glasses can land us in trouble when we use them in excess, but now and then? They’re the perfect antidote to everything that sucks. 

Nobody knows this better than the contributors to a wholesome Reddit thread, which asked people about all the little ways in which they romanticized their lives. It says a lot that some of these responses are things that most of us do. Romance isn’t just about other people, but also a way of looking at ourselves.