Lists of Happiness

So this post is a bit less political, and more on the philisophical end of things.

The other day, I was at TAB meeting for my local library, in which teens assemble to discuss how to improve the teenage literature and social atmosphere of the library. At this first meeting, the coordinator handed out this list of 40 things where, apparently if you can check off at least 20 as being relevant to your life, you have the ability to live a happy life. Some included living in an environment where you have adult friends for influence, a group of friends that influence you for the better, and reading for at least an hour a day. I was astounded at how hard I had to try and find those 20 things. I was almost upset. Does this mean I'm not happy? After a while, of deep, interpersonal thought and twisting the meaning of the sentences, I did manage to check off 20 things, but I realized very quickly how little this satisfied. And that's where my thoughts begin.

What trully defines what our happiness is? There is no one list or secret that tells you what YOU need to make you happy. I'm tired of this idea of a one-fix-everything cure for our problems in life, and as long as you live up to certain standards, you're okay. But that's not how the world works. People can lead perfectly good lives while never picking up a book, never wrting a single sentence on paper, and never speaking to those beyond their own set group of friends. Happiness has no one clear defintion, it comes in many forms, and reforms itself over and over to meet our day to day changes and styles. We as humans love to have answers to our problems, to be able to understand the world we live in, but it's not that simple. To find out what makes us content we must pick the things that get us excited. We must move past the influence of others and decide for ourselves if we are trully happy with where we are right now. No list is going to tell us if we're happy: we do. So what if I don't always have the time to read. Does that mean I'm unhappy?

Never let any form of happiness define you. Never let anyone tell you if you're happy or not. You decide if you're happy.