17 gold stars of joy shining brightly against a dark pandemic background

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Since returning to Italy, I've tried to fit in small moments of enjoyment and joy daily even though I've felt quite overwhelmed by the problems I've been trying to solve, which are constantly being made more uncertain by the pandemic.

When I did these small but enjoyable things, I tried to use all of my senses to really enjoy them fully. Of course, with having to wear the mask all day long my sense of smell has often been severely compromised, but I used my other 4 senses, as far as I was able.

Everyday I'm so grateful for being alive and I'm very happy about the fact that even though we are living through a pandemic with its many restrictions and consequences, I'm still free to live daily moments of happiness, as we all are no matter how dark our mundane life really is right now.

Now I will describe each one of ''the gold stars of joy shining brightly against a dark pandemic background.'' Each one of these has been a highlight of my life since September 2020, and each star described represents a memorable moment of happiness.

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