One of the simple truths of life is that it's hard. From school and work to social events and the peer pressures that come with them. There is so much asked from us on a daily basis that it can feel overwhelming. So how do we keep our chin up when so there is so much wanting to pull us down. I think I may have some tips for you.

Now this may seem like it should be a list instead of an article, but there is a reason for that. To be happy is more than to "Love Yourself" which can be a struggle in itself. In short, to be happy is to first be sad. Like the late Bob Ross said, "You need the dark to see the light" in other words, how can you know happiness if you've never known sadness. If you're feeling sad then just keep hope that happiness will soon follow.

We now know that emotions play off each other, but what can we do to make ourselves feel happy. I have had times in my life where there seemed to be only sadness, situations where I felt I couldn't be happy and had very few things where I could escape the sadness. I found refuge in video games and the internet. For a little while I was okay, whenever I fought with my parents or was frustrated from school, I could just power up my Xbox and lose myself in some fantasy world. Downside is that I always had to come back to the real world, so I was trapped with brief moments of freedom. I played sports, but I was detached from my teammates. we talked, sure, but never outside of practice and games. In short, I was in a bad place under a dark cloud. What, you ask, did I do to get out of this funk. I focused. On only myself. What were my likes and dislikes, unbiased from other people. I was constantly asking myself, "Who am I?" over and over. Every time I asked myself that I came up with a new answer. It was never in the sense of who I am morally, but more of who am I in my own world. I became in tune with myself. With what I wanted and what I didn't need. I began to spend time with people who accepted me for who I was, not who I pretended to be.

That is the basis, to me, of how to stay happy. Love who you are and others will as well. All ways be good enough for yourself, not others.