This is Day 100 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

When I started this, a few people thought I was ridiculous. That I was painting a world through rose colored glasses that ignored the reality of, well, reality. How can you always be positive when there are so many negatives? People said it just wasn’t possible. That I was delusional. That my desire to be positive was detrimental to myself and anyone who might stumble across the project.

They missed the point.

A few days ago, a friend shared a picture of a sign that said “…taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s more like a cha cha.” That, my friends, is pretty much my definition of positivity.

A friend shared this with me last night. Loved it and had to pass it on. #positivity @frannycakesblog pic.twitter.com/o15JGh1LIa

— Candice Rose (@EmbraceGFblog) February 25, 2014

In the past 100 days, even though I have found something positive to say each and every day, doesn’t mean that they have been an easy 1oo days. A best friend lost her son to a rare genetic disorder. I fell on the ice and am crossing fingers and toes that my leeds haven’t moved in my spine. I am going through another series of nerve blocks – I think at this point I am pushing 30 procedures.

I’ve had more than a few moments where I wondered if it was worth it to keep working or if anyone was reading what I was writing. I cancelled trips to San Francisco, Calcutta and Los Angeles. I spent more than a few days trapped in my house because the temperatures outside were triggering pain flares worse than I had ever had.

Those struggles are going to keep coming. There is never going to be a week or a year where everything just falls in to place and nothing goes wrong or regresses. But despite all that, I saw old friends. I got to try on a Blackhawk’s Stanley Cup Championship ring. I drank good wine with best friends. I celebrated birthdays. I celebrated holidays. I spent time with family. I was designing.

And not a day passed where I could not find something in my life to be positive about.

What is your definition of positivity? Share your answer on social media with the hashtag #100positivedays on Twitter, Instagram and Google+.