Happy. One simple word that can mean a number of different things. Everyone strives to be happy, that’s what we’re born to do. We grow up with people asking us what we want to become; little kids may say a princess or the president of the United States, teenagers may say doctors or engineers, and adults, well they may say “I’m not sure.” Me on the other hand, well, I’m not sure either; all I know is I want to be happy.

Whatever I pursue in life, I want to end up successful and happy. I want to have a steady career, I want to love what I do and love the people I work with. I want to have a caring husband and become the best wife possible. I want to come home everyday to the man I love, greeting me at the door, hearing him say, “I love you,” while there’s a puppy barking at us in the background.

I want to travel. I want to go to Ireland. I want to see Dublin, I want to see all the castles, and I want to get drunk in some Irish pub with my love. I want to go to Australia. I want to see Sydney and all the wild animals. I want to swim in the beautiful, clear, ocean water, splashing my husband. I even want to go to Greece. I want to learn about the mythology, I want to visit Venice - but I only want to do these things if my partner is right there with me, holding my hand. The truth is, I don’t care where I travel, I just know I want to learn more about this earth, and I want to do it with the one person I care most about.

I also know that I want to become the mother of two beautiful children. I want to come home everyday to my husband kissing me at the door, with two screaming kids in the background chasing the dog around the house. I want to take my daughter shopping. I want to talk to her about school and boys. I want to kiss her every night, and remind her that I love her. Most importantly, I want to become her best friend.

I want to watch my husband teach our son how to play football in the backyard. Seeing his face when our boy throws the ball for the first time. I want to go to his games, watching my husband’s face as our son scores his first touchdown.

I want to take care of my parents as they age, in sickness and in health. I want to give them the world, like they already have for me. I want them to watch my kids grow up. I want to see them every week, not three times a year. I want to tell them how much I love them and appreciate them, every single day. I want to see my dad playing with my son in the pool, and I want to see my daughter laughing and kicking as my mom continues to tickle her, like she used to do to me.

Most of all, I want to appreciate the little things. I want to appreciate the sunrise, I want to appreciate the forehead kisses my husband gives me every morning, I want to appreciate the smell of breakfast as I walk downstairs to see my kids waiting for me at the table, I want to appreciate family dinners with my parents. I want to appreciate the people around me, more and more everyday. I want to be happy.