Twenty-somethings know a thing or two by now about happiness. We know the importance that happiness holds. It encourages us and is a motivation that is vigorously looked for and chased after. When I asked some 20-somethings, what being happy means to them, they all hesitated but liked the question. I wanted to find out the different elements that made people happy in their lives:
“For me, being happy means being productive, being able to feel good about the work that I’m doing throughout the course of the day. It also means being around my friends and being present in my social life. The more outgoing I am, the better I feel,” said a 21-year-old.
“Being happy to me is knowing that those around me, who I love and are safe, supported and content. Being happy is knowing that I’ve done everything in my power to create positivity and happiness for others,” said a 19-year-old.
“If I had to really think about it, for me being happy means to be completely at peace with yourself, and not rely on anything else for that inner peace and inner joy. […] No other external factors are what make you happy, you are just happy because that is purely how you feel as a person inside,” said a 21-year-old.
“I always think about this during an existential crisis. Happiness is that moment when it’s really cold outside, but the sun is shining… Happiness is coming home to freshly baked cookies,” said a 20-year-old.
“I think it’s intrinsically motivated, so it comes from the inside. […] You can do things from the outside that make you feel happy on the inside, but it has to come from within like people can try to do things to make you happy but you have to be happy from your own person. So, in my case what makes me happy is eating, cooking, traveling, and then small things like seeing a perfect snowflake, or writing the perfect [letter] “A”. That makes me happy,” said a 22-year-old.
“[..] Being happy just means having minimal worries and being appreciative of everything you have,” said a 20-year-old.
Being happy for people in their early twenties comes from within- to be comfortable in your skin, loving who you are and appreciating the things and people around you. Happiness also comes from smaller moments that are savoured and appreciated by the person experiencing it. Moreover, outside factors impact happiness a great amount as well. Being supported and surrounded by those who you love and them being healthy and well, is what being happy means to some of these young adults. Of course, worry and stress are factors that make joy feel farther away, so it makes sense that having no worries creates happiness.