Happiness—the term that means, “having a mental or emotional state of well-being,” defined by “positive or pleasant emotions from contentment to intense joy.” Happiness is the most important characteristic one should have because otherwise, life isn’t as enjoyable. All my life I have been a genuinely happy person. For the most part, you will always catch me with a smile on my face. Whether I am running around with my friends or hanging out with my family, I am 100% content and at peace. Others find their joy by sports or hobbies. We all deserve those little moments that mean the world to us.

Unfortunately though, life has its ups and downs and there are moments where you may not be able to find happiness. Recently, I felt like I have been in that situation. No matter where I turned, I felt unhappy the majority of the time. Between the stress of finding a new part time job because the retail store I worked at closed and simultaneously trying to accomplish all of my goals; goals such as reaching a certain fitness level, making a certain amount of money, or maintaining a good GPA so that I was one step closer to graduation. Unfortunately, because of the stress that comes along with these goals I felt like I was shutting myself into a tight, dark box. I stopped laughing the way I used to, and stopped smiling all the time. I was too focused on perfectionism and less focused on what I was actually doing to my body. I started putting myself down, telling myself, “I will never be good enough,” and, “I will never accomplish my goals,” and, “I am failing at life.” In such a short amount of time, I forgot what it was like to be happy. I was lost in a big world, wandering aimlessly, not knowing which way was paradise.

As cliché as it sounds, I woke up one morning with the birds chirping and the sun shining and decided that enough was enough. “Where was the old me?” “Who am I?” These were questions I asked myself that morning. The truth is, it is a big world, and it is easy to get overwhelmed in it. We slowly lose the key to the gate of paradise and let ourselves aimlessly wonder. I woke up with every intention of unlocking the gate again, but I did not know how.

After many nights of contemplation and thought about where I was in life and where I wanted to be, I believe that I have found the key. The key to the gate of paradise is happiness itself. There is no deep dark secret to being happy. When you stop looking around for the perfect moment, or when you stop beating yourself up over the “B” you received instead of an “A,” you have accomplished what most people have not. When you let go of the bad and focus more on the good, you have unlocked the gate. Yes, life can be hard, but it is worth every single second of the journey.

Let’s take a moment and think about happiness as a pathway through the woods. When you look around what do you see? There are trees, there are sticks, there is dirt and mud…but what makes this pathway so enjoyable? Why do people walk on it? Some may walk to engage with the beautiful leaves on the tree, others may walk to listen to the noises of the wildlife, some may walk to find true bliss in the sun shining through the branches. If we break it up, we can determine that the pathway itself, the cleared out dirt and mud are your struggles. Without those struggles you wouldn’t be who you are today and wouldn't have a reminder of your mistakes. You wouldn't know what to do and what not to do. Now let’s add the wildlife, let’s add the colorful fall leaves and the sunshine. Those are the happy memories, those are the memories that will live on and build you up because those are what cause true serenity and peace. Without the leaves, wildlife and sunshine the path would not be worth taking and it most certainly would not be as enjoyable.

One of my favorite quotes is, “There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path.” This quote sums up everything that I have been trying to explain. It shows that there is no exact way to find happiness, and there is no right or wrong way to be happy, but happiness is the path that leads you through the long journey called “life.”