Informant: My informant, L.K., is 19 and was born in New York but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia from age 5 to 18. L.K. father is working for a tourist agency and part time water polo referee and his mom is a financial manager for a restaurant in Croatia. He has a younger brother and sister with his family being fully Croatian, but has integrated small values from his time in the United States.

Folklore: “Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours!” L.K. heard this phrase every day from his principal in high school back in Croatia. The principal would finish the announcements over the school speakers every time with this phrase. L.K. came to hate the phrase after hearing it repeatedly every day, but does look back and understands the meaning behind the phrase.

Analysis: My mom would often find similar phrases like this and hand them up in our rooms. The message to be taken from the phrase is that people have a choice as to how they live every day. You can either choose to look at the negatives and consider that today is a bad day, or you can choose to look past the negatives and decide to make it a great day every day. Looking this phrase up online tells that its original origin is said to be linked to Buddha, but has apparently spread across the world. The phrase is being used worldwide for the exact purpose of a positive reminder in morning announcements in schools.