Just so happy to be alive!
Stop trying to be happy. I’m serious. Just stop. Just like “fetch”, it’s just not going to happen.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of books written about how to be happy, how to be optimistic, how to live in the moment. I have never actually read one of them, and frankly have no idea if they actually work. But it seems sad that thousands of people have to be told how to be happy all the time. We’re taught to always strive to do better, to never be satisfied with where we are in life, that being happy is some sort of struggle. I’ve always said that when I grow up my main goal is to be happy. But why not just be happy in this very moment? Why wait years to be happy, why not appreciate what I have and who I am in this very moment instead of waiting for some divine intervention to bring me happiness?
Steve Roggenbuck is kinda my inspiration….and Bridget Bruns.
I realize that for those who are clinically depressed, it is not that simple. You cannot tell a depressed person to “stop being so sad all the time”, if anything that makes matters worse. With that being said, you shouldn’t just ignore the depressed. You have to use patience, nurturing words, sometimes no words at all. Just be there to listen. Happiness is attainable, even for those in the most hopeless of situations. As college students, we are so wrapped up with our own lives that we fail to recognize when our peers are in desperate need of mental help. Sorry, that took a terribly unrelated detour.
Having said that, you might think I’m a terribly sad, pessimistic person. But it’s quite the opposite. I think I’m the happiest person I know, to be perfectly honest. My life is perfect, I go to Notre Dame, I am alive in the world today, I have a family that loves and supports me, I live in middle-class America. How much better can it get? I probably sound terribly naïve, but I assure you, I am anything but.
I have come to the realization that even when I face insurmountable circumstances in my home life, or things just aren’t going right in my personal life, things can only get better. There are far worse things than a flat bike tire, spilt coffee, a C+ on a Spanish test, or a lost internship. There will be another opportunity to start over. It isn’t the end of the world, seriously. There will be more internships, more Spanish tests, more chances at a coveted good hair day. We must stop acting as though our problems are the worst, because they are not. I hate to sound cliché, but there are so many more people that have it far worse than you and I may have it and their optimism and happiness is likely far greater than many of you reading this.
Further, far too many students are majoring in subjects in which they have no interest. So many of my friends have told me that they are Business majors solely for the practicality of the program. While others genuinely love business, others are just in it to work a job they have no interest in for the rest of their lives, so that they can make a lot of money, have a nice husband or wife, and live wealthy. I guess if wealth is your definition of happiness, that’s fine. But, this brings me back to my original point of always striving for something greater in the future. Why not just live in the now? Be happy NOW, don’t look back and think about how miserable college was because you hated your major. Do what you feel like in this very moment, even if that means napping all day and accidentally blowing off that Econ test tomorrow. Do what makes you happy, not what makes your mom and dad happy. They aren’t living your life, YOU ARE.
I’m just really happy you guys…
I was recently watching Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and one of the main characters was bragging about her focus on material things while judging her boyfriend for being more inclined to favor experiences and relationships. It is depressing that we, as a generation, are so focused on the Instagram picture we can take at dinner or gift from a significant other, rather than the experiences we share with those closest to us. I admit I am guilty of this as well. We are slowly forgetting how to be happy without the aid of electronic devices and that alone is so ironically making me sad.
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Photos courtesy of author.