To explain what happiness means to me, I want to first talk about what doesn’t make me so happy…

Life often feels like a series of random and jumbled events that have barren inconsistencies. Sometimes things seem to have no innate meaning and it can make me feel like I am watching life go by without actually being in it. It often feels like whatever I’m doing is not what I should be doing, and whatever other people are doing is contributing to their lives having more of a singular purpose. But a lack of purpose does not make me unhappy. I think what makes me happy is the knowledge of security and the people around me and my own imagination. I think living in a world where I have been told that finding the one purpose for life is the quintessential marker of being, is what makes me scared and confused, and overall unhappy.

A purpose in life sounds nice, but it isn’t all that life is. I think a lot of living is being without a purpose and finding out what works and what doesn’t, and noticing the reactions you get for actions you put out. A singular purpose seems hard to pin down, we as humans have so many complex facets to our being, so many hopes and faults and things we try out, we cannot be boiled down to simply one function. A singular purpose can look nice on paper but it isn’t a reality, in my own opinion.

I think what makes me really happy are things like helping others, music, food, art, art history and good weather. I love rainy days and fancy parties. I enjoy old fashion, being in nature, seeing new places, acting, musicals, and making people laugh. I love my family and seeing my best friends on our times off, and spending time with the people I love. I like making stupid jokes with them and doing fun unexpected things. I feel like have many purposes that make me happy in my life. I am a sister, a daughter and a friend. I try to balance this with my relationship with my individual self.

I enjoy when I’m comfortable in my body, but there are times when I’m not as happy with it. I enjoy people, but to that same degree, I can get worn out the longer I’m with them. I think that happiness for me is a balance between the things in my life. But things can go a little wrong sometimes, and it’s all right if you’re not happy constantly (honestly that sounds tiring), as balancing is sometimes out of our control.

Most of the people my partner and I interviewed today said that being comfortable or being content is their definition of happiness. I agree, I think without the ugly in life, though, it’s harder to enjoy the better aspects of living as a part of our biology will always keep wanting more, the more we obtain as discussed in our lecture about the hedonic treadmill. Procter, 2020 What is Positive Psychology? What is Happiness? [PowerPoint presentation]. Retrieved from Moodle.