I work with high schoolers for thirty hours every week, and while I am not much older than one myself, I no longer have to ask someone older than me to buy tequila. I’m slowly working on this adult thing, but when I see my students, I wonder when I stopped feeling like a teenager. I find myself getting annoyed over the very things that made me feel devastated just a few years ago. Recently, I volunteered in a few elementary classrooms and saw very different people from the ones I work with every day. I asked these kids if they could sing, and we sang together. I asked if they could dance, and we danced together. I asked what they loved about school and they shouted out answers, their voices growing louder and louder as they talked over one another. Overjoyed, they showed me artwork they had made, and I spent the day with a smile on my face. Confidence is infectious, and that day I became seven-years-old again, with gapped teeth and crooked pigtails.
When did I stop having confidence like that every day? When did we, as peers, colleagues, and friends stop supporting each other’s excitement, and start forcing people to apologize for their joy and regret asking questions? I have to wonder when I finally crossed over into adulthood, when the shoulder knots set in and the never ending sense of stress settles around you like a coat. At what age do we lose our joy, and more importantly, how can we get it back?
Just a few short weeks ago, we celebrated Valentine’s Day, a day for love, romance, friendship, and patiently waiting for chocolate to go on sale. Immediately following the sugar rush, there was #RAKWEEK. Random Acts of Kindness Week was designed for people to carry out their day with kindness. Anything would do. For example, when walking down the street, pay someone a compliment. It takes no extra time, and it makes someone feel good. That should be something we strive for regularly.
Many people claim they want to return to “simpler times” or “better days.” While I can see through the rosy facade of the romanticized eras, I do see things that we can bring back, the simplest of which is kindness. If we allowed people to be themselves, let them be joyful and excited with their lives, and we actively celebrate for them, our own lives will improve. I’ve firsthand experienced what it is like to be actively kind, and it really does make the day better. Being happy for someone else is still being happy. These intrinsic values are another thing we need to return to. Not everything ends in material or financial gain, and that is ok. Money does not need to be at the center of every action. If we raised the value of those “warm, fuzzy feelings,” more people would be choosing happiness.
Happiness is not a right. The pursuit of it is, and as such, is something that we Americans should do on a regular basis. Pursuing happiness is our duty and is everything that our nation was founded upon. I challenge you to pursue happiness this week and spread joy around to others. Break out of your comfort zone, and encourage others to find their bliss. Things won’t change unless someone starts making that change, it should be us.
