Response

Happiness

One of the hardest things in life is knowing that the most important person in your life is unhappy, and there is nothing you can do about it. Happiness is not something you can buy, something you can give, and most importantly it is not something you "make" someone; and that's where the struggles begin.

"Do you promise you're happy?"

"Yes, I promise," Alex said. His hair messy from work, his blue eyes gleaming, yet sleepy, I kissed his head and whispered, "Goodnight." 

Pretty believable, right? Wrong. At six, the alarm goes off for Alex to go to work and I hear the daily groan of getting up. At seven-thirty, I get the text saying he's at work; around noon I get the text saying how unhappy he is and how terrible work is going. So is he still happy? 

In my opinion when you are in your late teens and early twenties, it is a time of discovery and could easily be described as some peoples "best years of their lives." So why do so many people deal with part-time jobs (that they hate), friends that only bring them down, or an abusive boyfriend or girlfriend? Society has an image of "happiness" for these teens and people in their early twenties; if I could attach a video it would be "Project X." The party scene, the late drunken nights, the hook-ups, and that tight "clique" of people that you spend every day with; and what do people crave? They crave those endless nights with a drink in their hand and not being able to remember the next day, "solo-cup" Instagram pictures, and racking up how many people they have hooked up with... That's happiness, right? 

If you ask Alex, happiness could easily be described as working on his car, going mud-running, or seeing a clear result come back from his moms scan. Which is what happiness is, it is not the same for everyone, I like to read and spend time with my family and friends (no, that does not involve my head in a toilet filled with puke) so once again, why do people continue to live the life their living, if they are unhappy? 

If you ask around, I guarantee the majority of people will say they won't quit their "terrible" job because they need money, they won't drop the friends that bring them down because they have been their friends for "forever", and that abusive boyfriend/girlfriend is actually a "good" person. It's all a mask, because so many people are too afraid to step out of their comfort zone and take a leap towards a good (happy) life. 

Remember being little and being so outgoing? In most pictures you have of yourself you are probably smiling and clung to your parents or your favorite toy. It's funny how that smile fades so quickly as you grow up, and those toys become painted plastic thrown in your closet, and you start having disagreements with your parents and those hugs and laughs  lead to slamming doors and screaming. Growing up is part of happiness and finding yourself, you have to remember to cling to what is most important in your life, just as you did when you were young. Unfortunately a lot of people will not understand this until later in life, or in some cases when it is too late. So do those parties really matter? Or those people you slept with in college?  Yes they are memories, but what about the people that get you through the rough days or have supported you through even your dumbest decisions? 

In my opinion happiness is hearing "I love you" and knowing someone means it, looking through old pictures to remind me to keep myself grounded and what really matters, and most importantly, being able to see and talk to the few people that continuously make my world go around; I am extremely blessed with all that God has given me and I think if more people saw the good things before the bad things "happiness" wouldn't be so far away.