Throughout my academic and social experience, I have been challenged not only by teachers but also myself to ask deep questions such as “who am I?,” “how do I lead a meaningful life,” or “what makes me happy?” Time and time again discussions with classmates or even with myself end up at the same place. My actions.

I am sure you have heard from your sometimes over-bearing parents at some point in your life that it is your actions, not your words, that define who you are. You can say you are going to do something, but that does not mean anything until you physically do it. You may have brushed it off as some meaningless parent jargon, but in my experience, doing, rather than thinking, has provided me with the answers to those seemingly rhetorical questions I posed at the beginning of this article.

When you get into the technicalities of actions, I believe all actions can be put into two categories: selfless and selfish: what you are doing either motivated by yourself or other people. Further, within these two categories, I believe there to be two subcategories: creative and uncreative: you can act in a way that reflects painting a picture or you can act in a way that reflects solving a math equation. What I have found is that the actions that fall under the category of creative, selfish or selfless, are those that not only build character and add meaning to your life but bring the most happiness.

When I say creative, I do not imply strictly artistic. Many actions throughout the day require creativity that does not necessarily require a paintbrush. Something as simply choosing what emoji to send over text to convey the exact emotion you are feeling requires dubious amounts of creativity, but that is small scale. Expressing yourself on a large scale is truly the full-proof way to find happiness.

Writing week to week for the Odyssey has given me the chance to not only express myself, but also find satisfaction in the fact that I took a risk to think that what I am writing people will actually read and enjoy. I learn from my mistakes, and it builds me up as a writer so that I can convey my message even clearer and more precise the more I do this. It might seem attention-seeking, but this is how I believe we build character. To take risks is to welcome opportunities for happiness that you might not otherwise have had. Having the courage to be vulnerable to the public is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done not only with writing but even performing on stage in front of an audience. I truly think we do not know our own potential unless we have the courage to try and reach it.

That is why if you are having a bad day, feeling down, or have any negative feelings, try to express yourself. Even if you are having the best day of your life, express yourself. I think you will be surprised at how good you feel as you hit the publish button, hang that painting in the gallery, or even hit the post button (yes social media can act as an outlet as positive self-expression, but that can take a turn for the worse, another time another article).