Happiness Project
For this project, we began with reading the book ‘Brave New World’ and it was a sort of introduction to the project to show us how certain societies view happiness in different ways. After reading this book we went on to read several different article and watched videos that gave us a deeper insight to the idea of happiness and how we may view it as both a society and as individuals. After analyzing what we had been studying, we began drawing quotes from sources which led to the writing of our final essay, which allowed us to express both what affect one's happiness and what happiness means to us as individuals. To finish this project, we got to choose how to express what we had interpreted over the duration of learning about what happiness is through an art piece. We were given a lot of freedom in the decision of making this art piece and it gave us the opportunity to express ourselves and what happiness means to us.
Happiness Essay
Looking Deeper at Happiness
Happiness is such a broad subject, and hard to accomplish let alone comprehend. Happiness, to me, means having a sense of belonging; when one feels as though they are content with themselves and their lives. To some people, happiness is when they do something for someone to give their own life meaning. A lot of people mistake the idea of authentic happiness for materialistic happiness, which is when one receives something and the short burst of joy is confused for true happiness. Recently I read a book called Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, in this book the people depend on a drug called Soma, they believe that this is the source of their happiness, but it is an artificial happiness. They are being given this drug and think that they are happy, but it isn’t authentic happiness, it is materialistic happiness. The are finding happiness through receiving items, rather than what makes humans, as a whole, truly happy; interacting with those around us, and having connections with them (Huxley). The key to finding true happiness is doing something to gain meaning, such as giving to those around you, as well as focusing solely on the good and eliminating the negative in life and focusing less on materials and more on face-to-face interactions.
It is known that in order to gain happiness in one's life, they must first do something to gain meaning; happiness will be a result of completing actions to gain meaning. An article called There's More to Life than Being Happy, written by Emily Esfahani Smith, on page three, she uses a quote from Martin E.P.; “You use your highest strengths and talents to belong and serve something you believe is larger than the self” (Smith). The idea of meaning which leads to happiness can be seen as a chain of events of sorts. Say, someone does something, for example helping someone with something, which leads to having a meaning in your life, which will ultimately lead to happiness. We are using the idea and actions of giving to those around us to give our own lives meaning in order to achieve the idea of happiness. Also from the article There's More to Life than Being Happy, written by Emily Esfahani Smith, on page 2 it states: “One is commanded and ordered to ‘be happy.’ But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy’ ”(Smith). We must take action and give so that we feel as though we have a meaning. When one’s feels as though they have a meaning, it leads to self contentment. This article is saying that if one goes after happiness, they will never reach it; happiness must come to them. When someone goes after something larger than themselves, it will bring purpose to their life; this will result in happiness.
The key to finding happiness in each individual life is accepting every aspect of their life and eliminating the bad and focusing on the good. Going through bad experiences shapes a part of who we are as humans, for both the good and the bad. The movie Happy, produced by Roko Belic states, “Acceptance of all of my life is a part of healing”(Belic). Experiencing these hard moments in our lives is a part of growing and healing, these moments don’t define who we are. Accepting this fate will be the key into realizing that not everything in life has to be perfect in order to be happy. As long as one focuses on the good, and eliminates the bad, it will be possible to be happy even under bad circumstances. Accepting who you are and the life you are living will lead to ultimate happiness. Another quote from the movie Happy, produced by Roko Belic is: “We have to catch it for ourselves”(Belic). This quote shows that happiness is in our hands, we must do what we need to in order to take charge of our happiness and what makes us happy. One must be open to what is happening around them, but also take control and go after what happiness means to them. Often in life, we go through things that are difficult, angering, saddening, and so on and through these hard times, it is most important to figure out what is important to us and what we can eliminate from our lives in order to be happier are around. Focusing on the good and accepting the aspects of one's individual life plays a major part in happiness in their life.
I believe that as a society, in order to achieve happiness, we must rely less on materialistic connection, and focus more what is happening around us. As a society, we generally resort to social media to both express how we feel and even communicate with people who are often sitting even right in front of us. We value that connection rather than face-to-face interactions between those who we are close to, and mean something, more to us than liking our pictures on a site. In a video called The Innovation of Loneliness, narrated by Shimi Cohen, Cohen makes a comment saying: “We are collecting friends like stamps, not distinguishing quality versus quantity and converting the deep meaning of the intimacy of friendship with the exchanging photos and chat conversations. By doing so, we are sacrificing conversations with mere connection” (Cohen). We are mistaking what we need for what we don’t in order to create what we think will make us a happier as a society. Reducing this sort of connection or even learning where to distinct the line between what is doing good for us and what isn’t is an important step towards a happier society. As stated in the article The One’s Who Walk Away from Omaela written by Ursula Le Guin, “The social networks aren’t just changing what we’re doing, but also who we are”(Guin). We need true friends, people who will be there for us, and human interaction in order to reach true connection which will lead to genuine happiness as a society. We are lacking in the department of actual conversation and face to face discussions. This is creating a barrier between that of a happy society and a society that is mistaking this for true happiness. As an American culture, we must focus less on social media influence and more on what we can do, such as in person interactions, in order to create a happier society that is less dependant on materialistic happiness.
As a society as a whole, we must first examine what happiness is in order to get a deeper understanding of what affects us positively and negatively. This will show us what makes us happier as individuals, and focusing on these ideas is what will help us both individually and as a whole to reach the ultimate goal of happiness. In order to influence a society that seeks happiness, they must first be shown that going after happiness, you will never catch it; happiness will come to the person. If one does what brings joy to them, whether it is spending time with those they love, exercising, or giving to those around them; each individual is in charge of their happiness. In order to fulfill their goals of happiness, one must do what will make them happier. Having a deeper understanding of what happiness is will be the ultimate first step into having an American society that values what we must do in order to be authentically happy.
Happiness is such a broad subject, and hard to accomplish let alone comprehend. Happiness, to me, means having a sense of belonging; when one feels as though they are content with themselves and their lives. To some people, happiness is when they do something for someone to give their own life meaning. A lot of people mistake the idea of authentic happiness for materialistic happiness, which is when one receives something and the short burst of joy is confused for true happiness. Recently I read a book called Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, in this book the people depend on a drug called Soma, they believe that this is the source of their happiness, but it is an artificial happiness. They are being given this drug and think that they are happy, but it isn’t authentic happiness, it is materialistic happiness. The are finding happiness through receiving items, rather than what makes humans, as a whole, truly happy; interacting with those around us, and having connections with them (Huxley). The key to finding true happiness is doing something to gain meaning, such as giving to those around you, as well as focusing solely on the good and eliminating the negative in life and focusing less on materials and more on face-to-face interactions.
It is known that in order to gain happiness in one's life, they must first do something to gain meaning; happiness will be a result of completing actions to gain meaning. An article called There's More to Life than Being Happy, written by Emily Esfahani Smith, on page three, she uses a quote from Martin E.P.; “You use your highest strengths and talents to belong and serve something you believe is larger than the self” (Smith). The idea of meaning which leads to happiness can be seen as a chain of events of sorts. Say, someone does something, for example helping someone with something, which leads to having a meaning in your life, which will ultimately lead to happiness. We are using the idea and actions of giving to those around us to give our own lives meaning in order to achieve the idea of happiness. Also from the article There's More to Life than Being Happy, written by Emily Esfahani Smith, on page 2 it states: “One is commanded and ordered to ‘be happy.’ But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy’ ”(Smith). We must take action and give so that we feel as though we have a meaning. When one’s feels as though they have a meaning, it leads to self contentment. This article is saying that if one goes after happiness, they will never reach it; happiness must come to them. When someone goes after something larger than themselves, it will bring purpose to their life; this will result in happiness.
The key to finding happiness in each individual life is accepting every aspect of their life and eliminating the bad and focusing on the good. Going through bad experiences shapes a part of who we are as humans, for both the good and the bad. The movie Happy, produced by Roko Belic states, “Acceptance of all of my life is a part of healing”(Belic). Experiencing these hard moments in our lives is a part of growing and healing, these moments don’t define who we are. Accepting this fate will be the key into realizing that not everything in life has to be perfect in order to be happy. As long as one focuses on the good, and eliminates the bad, it will be possible to be happy even under bad circumstances. Accepting who you are and the life you are living will lead to ultimate happiness. Another quote from the movie Happy, produced by Roko Belic is: “We have to catch it for ourselves”(Belic). This quote shows that happiness is in our hands, we must do what we need to in order to take charge of our happiness and what makes us happy. One must be open to what is happening around them, but also take control and go after what happiness means to them. Often in life, we go through things that are difficult, angering, saddening, and so on and through these hard times, it is most important to figure out what is important to us and what we can eliminate from our lives in order to be happier are around. Focusing on the good and accepting the aspects of one's individual life plays a major part in happiness in their life.
I believe that as a society, in order to achieve happiness, we must rely less on materialistic connection, and focus more what is happening around us. As a society, we generally resort to social media to both express how we feel and even communicate with people who are often sitting even right in front of us. We value that connection rather than face-to-face interactions between those who we are close to, and mean something, more to us than liking our pictures on a site. In a video called The Innovation of Loneliness, narrated by Shimi Cohen, Cohen makes a comment saying: “We are collecting friends like stamps, not distinguishing quality versus quantity and converting the deep meaning of the intimacy of friendship with the exchanging photos and chat conversations. By doing so, we are sacrificing conversations with mere connection” (Cohen). We are mistaking what we need for what we don’t in order to create what we think will make us a happier as a society. Reducing this sort of connection or even learning where to distinct the line between what is doing good for us and what isn’t is an important step towards a happier society. As stated in the article The One’s Who Walk Away from Omaela written by Ursula Le Guin, “The social networks aren’t just changing what we’re doing, but also who we are”(Guin). We need true friends, people who will be there for us, and human interaction in order to reach true connection which will lead to genuine happiness as a society. We are lacking in the department of actual conversation and face to face discussions. This is creating a barrier between that of a happy society and a society that is mistaking this for true happiness. As an American culture, we must focus less on social media influence and more on what we can do, such as in person interactions, in order to create a happier society that is less dependant on materialistic happiness.
As a society as a whole, we must first examine what happiness is in order to get a deeper understanding of what affects us positively and negatively. This will show us what makes us happier as individuals, and focusing on these ideas is what will help us both individually and as a whole to reach the ultimate goal of happiness. In order to influence a society that seeks happiness, they must first be shown that going after happiness, you will never catch it; happiness will come to the person. If one does what brings joy to them, whether it is spending time with those they love, exercising, or giving to those around them; each individual is in charge of their happiness. In order to fulfill their goals of happiness, one must do what will make them happier. Having a deeper understanding of what happiness is will be the ultimate first step into having an American society that values what we must do in order to be authentically happy.
Artist Statement
For my art piece I decided to do the silhouette of the side of a girls face to represent myself, and then in the shape of a chat bubble I wrote all of the things that make me happy. I did this on a white canvas in all black to show an emphasis on the things that are most important to me in life. I also wrote my quote in black to put more emphasis on it, including doing the word ‘happiness’ in bubble letters, to connect the idea of the quote back to the overall project and what happiness is to me. I decided to include the color after finishing everything else because I thought it could represent how all of these things bring me happiness also bring color to my life. I decided to make all of these colors bright to represent how bright colors sort of mean happiness to me in a way. I decided to go in the direction of traditional art due to the fact that I have not really done much of that this school year. Painting is something that I enjoy doing, so being able to experiment with that was something that I really liked as a part of this project. After experimenting a little with what I could do for a final product, and collaborating with my peers and getting some ideas from them, I came up with this idea. I feel as though this really represents who I am as a person and clearly proves what makes me happy as an individual, showing what I learned in this project.