I recently heard a song for the first time and the opening lyrics were,
"I'm only 19, but if there's one thing I know, happy's not a destination, man, it comes and goes. This past week has been hell, man, I bet it shows. The good wouldn't be as great if we ain't had the lows." -Lauren Sanderson (Oceans)
I mean honestly, if that's not the truth then I don't know what is. Those words really hit home and I'm sure most of you reading this would agree. There's this worldwide view among young adults, especially college students, that we need to work our hardest to be happy all the time. But why?
Happiness is great, don't get me wrong, but wouldn't life be incredibly boring if all we had were the highs in life? How would we learn anything about ourselves if we didn't have the lows? How would we learn anything about life without them? We're all at this point in our lives where everything is changing and moving so fast that those lows are inevitable and we need to be able to accept them.
For example, I came to Wittenberg with a major in mind and my life mapped out the same way it had been since fourth grade; an English degree and then law school. I took one communication class and my whole mindset was changed. I was starting to lean towards a communication degree, but I didn't want to make the wrong decision, let alone throw my childhood dream out the window. This change obviously upset me. I felt like I was completely lost and brought my life plan to what I believed at the time was shambles. I didn't just feel lost, I was extremely unhappy.
At that point, I had two decisions: I could pretend I was still happy when I wasn't, or I could accept my unhappiness. I chose the latter. By accepting this, I chose to work through my change in mindset to find myself and what I really wanted: a communication degree. If I would've just ignored my unhappiness I would probably still be on the fast track to a law degree that I don't even want anymore.
My point is, don't strive for the kind of happiness that doesn't embrace the unhappiness in your life too. It's okay to have low points. Your lows will most likely lead you to greater happiness than you had had before. Happiness isn't a destination; it's meant to come and go.
