“How do I become happy?”
This is an age-old question that many of us, especially college students, go through life floundering for the answer to. We seem to come back fruitless in our search, and it frustrates us to impossible ends. Happiness is something that we long for, and sometimes, we pour ourselves into things and people that we think will make us happy but end up working in opposition to our goals. We question our decisions and ourselves and wonder if we are on the right path, and when we think that we might be, we don’t see the results that we want.
Finding happiness may seem like searching for archaic ruins of stories from long ago, but it turns out that happiness is one of those things that can be very easily achieved.All you have to do is look inside yourself.
Search your soul for what makes you truly happy and fulfilled. What gives you worth, and what do you measure your worth on? Define your character by acting in the honorable path of acquiring your self-worth. When you feel your best about yourself is when you will be truly happy.
I have learned in my life so far that happiness is multifaceted and sometimes takes a while to uncover. I started to recognize my core values and morals at a relatively young age, and I have built the foundation of my happiness on those values. Find out what you want, and go after it valiantly and wholeheartedly. I have some tips that have helped me find my happiness, and I hope that they will help you find yours as well.
1. Find something to smile about every day.
Whether it’s a dumb video on Facebook that your friend shows you or your elation at getting back a paper you worked so hard to find that you earned an “A,” even the smallest moments can make a big impact on someone’s day. Treasure the little things in life, and make them count for the big things.
2. Believe in something, and stand up for it.
Everyone has to believe in something, so find what that is, and be proud of it. Your beliefs define the person you are and will become, so find what it is you do believe and surround yourself with people who will nurture and develop your belief into a positive and impactful change.
3. Reach out when you or others need help.
Not asking for help when you are in a difficult situation can cause you to become significantly unhappy because your adversities will fester inside of you. Find people who will console you in times of trouble, and find ways to console yourself. Everyone has bad days, so being equipped with the tools and the people to help you through those bad days.
4. Be open to exploring the world around you.
This world has so much to offer beyond materialistic objects and desires, and we must rejuvenate our minds with these organic pleasures in order to experience the fullness of life. Laughing with your best friend over coffee, hugging your mother or father, breathing in the crisp fall air, listening and understanding someone else’s point of view. These are all things that we can do that do not require the latest technology or luxury. We listen in order to learn, and once we learn, we can live.
5. Love and accept yourself above all.
It has taken me a long time to get here, and I don’t know if I ever truly will, but there is comfort in that. If I were to fully accept myself as I was, then I would have no room to change or to grow; I would be stuck wandering around for answers as to how to make myself happier and seek it among vacant sources of pleasure, which is the opposite of what I want. What you should aim for is to accept that you were made to be an imperfect human being, and you will learn and grow by immersing yourself in what makes you so happy and precious. We were all made to be here for a reason; it is your mission to find what that reason is, and when you do, you have found your happiness.
Happiness isn’t some sort of mythical and far-fetched concept, though it takes a little effort to find and embrace it. Once you do, your world will start to open up, and you will find that things that may have once been ordinary hold a certain magical quality to them.
I am a college student still in search of my happiness every single day, but I am learning that it doesn’t have to be so far out of reach. I stand before you as proof that someone who once thought that my world held nothing but opposition and darkness can find happiness by living, learning, and breathing. That is how I found my happiness, and I know that you can too. Happiness is not a door tucked away and locked with a golden key; it is an open and full of endless wonder and possibility that will appear to you when you take control of it. Do not worry about going on some Herculean mission for your happiness; look inside yourself, and you will find the key.
