According to Wikipedia, happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. In my opinion, happiness is more than a state. Happiness is searching filled with trial and error until satisfaction is met.
College is a time where we leave everything that once was so comfortable behind and venture into a new chapter in our lives that we all have been told will lead us to happiness. For some, the simple act of leaving home and entering college can be happiness in itself. For others, happiness is not found until well into their lives.
However, I think that we've all been so conditioned into thinking that happiness is the ultimate goal that we lose sight of what it actually is meant to do for us. Often times, I'll hear people being asked what they want to do with their lives and a common response is that they just want to be happy. But what does this mean? I know that this definition is different for everyone, but I'm here to point out that its more than a specific timeframe, happiness is the journey in getting there.
As college students, we're surrounded by stress, which is more or less the opposite of what it means to be happy. We're faced with daily decisions that range from the simplicity of whether or not we're going to make our 9:30 class that doesn't take attendance to the complexity of whether or not we want to further our education after we graduate or start off in a job that we may or may not be happy doing. Why is this time in our lives commonly looked at as the gateway into happiness instead of happiness itself? Why does the college student himself feel like this is just a time before real life begins?
With International Happiness Day recently being March 20, I think its important to point out that every aspect of our life can be looked at with happiness in mind. Even your worst day will provide some form of positivity. That bad grade can only push you to study harder, receive a better grade, and feel confident. That guy who never texted back can only force you to be more aware of what kind of person you deserve. Happiness is all about taking life's lessons and applying them into your future actions.
It is not a state of being that is temporary or achieving this ultimate goal, its about embracing each chapter in your life and learning from one in order to write the next.
