Happiness is Amazing – Bre’Onna Clowney
The students were shown a video in which two adult characters, a middle-aged man and an older woman, are sitting on a park bench discussing life. The man admits he has recently been suicidal but has now decided to stick around to “maybe make his little corner of the world a slightly happier place.” The woman responds, “That’s all there is, really. Happiness is amazing. It’s so amazing that it doesn’t matter if it’s yours or not.”
The students were asked to share their reflections on happiness.
Bre’Onna shares how making others happy benefits her and reinforces her own sense of personal growth.
Happiness is Amazing
“Happiness is amazing. In fact, it is so amazing that it doesn’t even have to be your happiness.”
Even though it took me five minutes to agree with this statement, I believe in this saying because seeing others smile, laugh, and grow makes me happy. When I’m feeling down, seeing my nephew smile makes me happy because he’s happy. Making my little brother laugh because he was upset makes me feel happy. Knowing I can cheer someone up brightens my spirit. Analyzing my self-growth makes me feel great because I’ve come a long way. Knowing I can grow makes me want to continue to grow.
Everyone goes through things. People tend to hide how they feel so they won’t ruin other people’s happiness but, opening up to someone you trust a lot can lead to relief which can then lead to happiness for both of you. Sometimes even talking to someone you don’t know and just having them listen can let you release negative thoughts and feelings. Personally, talking to myself helps because only I know how I truly feel. Giving myself some positive comments and encouragement lets me know my self-worth.
Happiness is something that each and every one of us should cherish because you never know what’s going to happen next. Letting anger and sadness get a hold on you slows you down from living.
Bre’Onna Clowney
January 28, 2022