Recently I have learned about the power of positivity. A close friend of mine is the one who taught me this and it is quite liberating. His name is Delano, he and I have been friends for some time and more recently than ever I began to notice how happy he was. Not only was he happy, but it was the most genuine happiness that I had ever seen from him. I noticed it more and more and I eventually asked him why he was so happy. He told me that he was happy just for the sake of it and that happiness is something you can practice everyday.

My first immediate response was to try to master this practice of happiness and I soon realized that it is not easy. It's not easy due to the fact that there are so many factors that will try to make you unhappy; but it really just comes down to choice. One can be going to through the roughest time in life but can still choose to practice happiness. Of course, that's the hardest part; being happy when you have absolutely no reason to be. Once someone can master this, that's where the "power" in the "power of positivity" comes in.

With self practice and a brief mentorship from Delano, I employed this power to see the extent of its effect. I recently ran a video segment on the campus of UTSA where students can use their freedom of speech to express political opinions. In doing so, for the first time, I kept my expectations low. We reached out to students with two of the biggest tools you can think of when it comes to positivity and meeting new people: eye contact and a warm smile.

We were giving off positivity and students were giving it right back to us; it was outstanding! Each encounter with a different student was full of humility, respectfulness, and comfort ability. In this situation I witnessed how well people respond to big smiles and laughter. I remember specifically one person, we had asked to ask him some questions and at first he didn't even look at us; he simply told us no. So we told him "thank you" and he turned back at us while still walking away to see us oozing out confidence and positivity. You know what he did after that? He stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and came back with a smile so we can ask him questions. That's where the sense of power comes from.

At the end of the recording and interactions I found myself feeling really good and happy. The only difference was that my sense of positivity was originating from within me rather than feeling it come from something else. It felt as if I was exchanging different forms of positivity with different people; we were feeding and growing off each other. Throughout the rest of that day, Delano and I couldn't stop talking about how good it felt exemplifying positivity and how well it rubbed off onto other people. It even possibly enlightened their day as much as they did mine. Something such as this can change the way we see and experience life.

In conclusion, I can't wait for the next episode of UTSA Speaks. People always say that you can be anything you want in life, but most forget to say that one of the things you can is happy; right now. It is as easy as practicing good grades or practicing good selfie taking. It is all a choice.