During my first semester of my senior year of high school, it came time to finally write those dreaded college applications on Common App.
While I was going through the application for UVa, a topic in which I could write about caught my attention. The question was: What is your favorite word and why? For a moment, I was stuck. How could I write an essay on a topic so vague and ambiguous?
Eventually, I realized this was much less complex than I originally thought. There had always been one thing I put above all else that had a more complex meaning than it is normally perceived.
Happiness.
The concept of happiness often varies from person to person and is skewed by a range of factors. For example, a person may consider themselves happy when they are given a gift or maybe when they are floating in deep blue water in some exotic island.
However, is this what a true interpretation of happiness is?
I came to understand this sort of happiness as artificial. I felt that this sort of happiness reliant on tangible goods or whatever it may be is a blissful experience rather than true happiness. Bliss is defined as “perfect happiness” or “great joy”, and while this may be the case, it is a temporary joy rather than a lasting sensation.
Growing up in a town where enjoyment was found through experimentation of possibilities, it was up to me to find ways to make myself content. This consisted of bothering the neighborhood kids to go on strenuous adventures through the woods or attempt to jump ramps as far apart as they could possibly extend. This form of happiness was created rather than given and is something I will forever cherish above almost any other memory I have ever made.
But what is true happiness?
My interpretation of true happiness has remained consistent ever since I wrote that essay two years ago. True happiness is a sense of self-acceptance. It is a moment of realization for one’s place in this great world that we live in. Personally, I also believe true happiness is the ability to be content with oneself in the presence of being alone. This is an interesting idea and many might not agree as interaction is always an essential part of our well-being.
However, it is a testament to one’s ability to find true happiness if they are able to be content without always having to be in the presence of someone else.
True happiness can come from a significant other, the love of a family, or simply a relationship with a pet (I am not trying to be hypocritical in my interpretation as it may seem jumping from being happy when alone to with others. I merely want to highlight the ambiguousness in a complex understanding.) I have learned that love has given me happiness greater than any item ever will and I know this is true in almost any circumstance.
When it comes to making goals, achieving true and lasting happiness is always the top priority rather it be explicitly thought of or not. I have always wished upon each and every person to find their interpretation of true happiness and to do anything in their power to find whatever that may be. Simply, we all deserve to be truly happy.
