Classes

I had my first day of classes in this morning. My first class was culture. And pretty much we compared and contrasted the lifestyle of the Aran Island (that has a total of about 800 people) to Irish cities and to America. We decided upon Americans being more private, preferring more attractive people, having media influences, not tolerating anger well and being more fearful than those people of the European countries. My next class was happiness. We were asked these four questions:

What is happiness?

How do you know if you're happy?

How important is happiness?

What makes you happy?

I believe that happiness cannot be defined. Essentially, it is an emotion of content. Happiness is the now and shouldn't be compared to the then or what could have been and what was. It is a choice. One chooses to look upon the negative aspects of their life or to look at the positive ones. With that said, one of the best ways to experience happiness is to experience negative situations and emotions and allow them to take their natural course. It is then when people learn to grow and to fully appreciate what the are happy for. When dealing with the struggle of a negative situation one chooses to allow all of the negative in and take over or to overcome it. Happiness reflects off of people, and when one is happy the surrounding people can feel the warmth of the emotion. Although it is shallow, happiness can be determined by comparison, specifically to the self. Self reflection is a positive motivator. When one self reflects one can determine the level of happiness or lack of and decide what needs to change or not change. This can then determine how happy one actually is. Happiness, I believe, is essential to a healthy life. Without it, not only do you jeopardize personal life but also those around you. Happiness derives from what makes a person happy. Naturally, what makes humans happy is shelter, food, water and human connections. Love and friendships are two of the strongest driving forces behind happiness. I also firmly believe that what makes a person happy can be determined by their self esteem, having people be proud of them and acknowledge their choices, self thought and reflection, positive energy and a bright surrounding.

I intend on posting my favorites quotes from my textbook. But for now, I am off to the Cliffs of Moher.