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Happiness

Definitions of happiness vary greatly among people because it is something that truly depends on the qualities of a person and the way that they live their lives. For me, the definition of happiness is separated into three categories: past successes, present activities, and future goals. My past successes contribute greatly to happiness because it reminds me of all of the hard work that I have done to get me to the point that I am today. Whether it is succeeding in school, overcoming personal challenges, or meaningful friendships that I have made, I am happy that things have worked out in this specific way to bring me to my present self (even if some of the things in the past were hard to go through). While my past successes are important to define happiness, the things I do in the present on a daily basis are the most important for me in defining happiness. Among many things, I believe that it is important to practice self-care and to be surrounded by friends who support me and enjoy spending time with me (pictured are my 3 best friends from home, whom I lived with for 3 months in quarantine, and I am very grateful for them). In the past, when I have been in an unhappy state, I realized that I was not taking care of myself as I should. Now, I make it a habit to exercise and take breaks from working hard in school, as balance is an extremely important part of maintaining happiness. A lot of my happiness is rooted in my relationships with friends, as spending time with people who I genuinely enjoy being around is in integral part of being happy (but I also need some alone time, so I always set aside time to myself). Finally, my future goals are the third part of my definition of happiness. I do not believe that happiness is something far off in the future that I will suddenly achieve one day, but my future career and life aspirations play a big role in motivating me to be happy with my current life and to work hard to achieve happiness as my life goes on. Thus, for me happiness is defined as a state of being in which I am content with not only my present life and relationships, but also with my past successes and the future goals that I set for myself. 

Comments

  1. Barbara CivitellaJanuary 28, 2021 at 7:03 PM

    I agree that happiness can only occur when fostered by self care and relationships! I didn't write about that but I love that you addressed it because its so important. It's so much easier to find the luck of being happy if u place yourself in a position to receive it. I also like your point that you are content with the present. I've always gotten too stressed or freaked out
    hahaha by the past or future so I try to stay present to achieve happiness! It's really cool that you can have happiness in all realms of I guess the past, present and future.

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  2. Alison ZhangJanuary 28, 2021 at 8:10 PM

    I love that you bring up how all your past experience, even the tough ones, have shaped you into who you are today. I used to obsess over the mistakes I made in the past, and it became hard to live in the moment because I was too focused on what I had done wrong in the past. But I definitely agree that what I do in the present has a greater impact on how happy I stay, and I've been better at taking care of my current self.

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