This past week or two has been emotionally tough for me. I had three midterms on the same day and I do not get stressed about my midterms but this time it actually matters. Cornell University is requesting a midterm report and I want to get all A’s in my progress report so I at least have a chance. This was tough because my psychobiology class is the most intense class and it gives me A&P level stress, which is ironic because it is also my favorite class this semester. Studying for that and my other two classes while also going through external “problems” weighed heavily on my emotional and mental health. Luckily, I stumbled upon an essay I wrote for my ESOL class about a happy person and it was interesting to kinda see happiness through the lens of young Grace. I thought to share it but fair warning; it’s not any good. Here goes nothing
Grace Martins
ESOL 052
A Happy Person
A person is like a plant. In the sense that, plants need a couple things to grow and survive, such as carbon dioxide from the air, water, and nutrients. In the spring, there is a moderate amount of sunshine and rainfall. Around this period, the plants blossom and display attractive colors. Summer draws near, and the amount of rainfall is reduced and the sun-loving plants like succulents and cacti thrive because they are well adapted to hot temperatures while the ones that cannot live without water begin to die gradually. In the fall, they die completely, dry up and fall. Winter rolls by and then it’s spring again. Like plants, people have various moments in their life. Spring is the period when human beings are happiest because they are achieving goals like employment, marriage, education, and so on. The summer period is when they get tired of the current level of happiness but still smile because they are grateful for life. The fall and winter are when they are totally unhappy and waiting patiently for the factor that will trigger their happiness.
We do not need a fairytale to show or tell us who a happy person is. Oyin, my 5-year-old cousin, is one of the happiest creatures I have ever met. Last year, in the fall semester, I used to take my sister, who was in elementary school, to the bus stop. My little cousin would wake up very early in the morning, so she could accompany me to the bus stop to drop my sister off. The walk to the bus stop was the best part of my day at that time because the sun was barely out, it was always cool out, the birds were flying in a distance, neighbors driving to work, other children marching to the bus stop in their brightly colored backpacks and lovely hairdo. She would always tell me how she could not wait until she could ride the bus to school. Upon the arrival of the bus, she would run to my sister and give her the biggest hug with tiny tears in her eyes. A year rolled by and she finally started kindergarten. When she heard that she would ride the big yellow school bus every morning, she let out the loudest screech I had ever heard in my life and jumped on me. Every morning since the beginning of the fall semester, we would run to the bus stop in fear that Oyin would miss her bus. The minute the bus arrives, she would hop on it with the biggest grin on her tiny face, the grin was so wide, anyone that would have seen her for the first time would think she was on her way to Disneyland. When I pick her up in the afternoons, she would hug her bus driver and tell her she cannot wait to ride again tomorrow. We certainly do not need a scientific experiment to tell us that this innocent 5year old is an example of a happy person. Like Oyin, a happy person finds joy in trivial things.
In summary, although it seems like a person needs to choose between money and time to be happy, happiness starts with an individual, not his/her relationship with money or time. A happy person is grateful, calm and does not depend on material possessions to decide their level of happiness. Even though I go through tough times, I am privileged to understand that happiness comes from within and find a way to smile through it all. People need to stop searching for happiness and start smiling.
I tried to make it short but this is still a lot lol. I just think it’s interesting that I defined a happy person that way because I don’t think I would define it the same way today. That’s why I am very grateful for the opportunity to share my words with everyone because I can come back to read this and feel the exact same way even though my life will be in a different phase.
