Read the excerpt.

Spring is my favorite season; the blooming of life anew brings such joy that sometimes it also brings tears to my eyes. It is difficult to explain, but there is just something about the first bright green leaves—I like to call them "baby leaves”—that takes my breath away. It is just amazing that nature can take something that looks dull and dead in the winter and then transform it into something with such beauty and color in the spring.

How does the author’s use of punctuation most contribute to the mood of the excerpt?

It helps to create an optimistic mood.
It helps to create a whimsical mood.
It helps to create a melancholy mood.
It helps to create a sentimental mood.