Exercise #7 Part 2

            I am somebody who loves to listen to all kinds of music in every genre imaginable. One of my favorite things to do besides listening to my own songs is listening to new songs recommended to me by my friends. Every time I hear a new song that I love, it is like discovering a hidden treasure: I become overwhelmed with happiness and joy not only by the discovery itself, but also by the emotions the song brings to me each time I listen to it.

For this assignment, I asked my friend Rachel to recommend some songs to listen to. Rachel is a self acclaimed connoisseur of music, knowing the ins and outs of what music is good and what is bad. When I asked her what are some songs worth listening to, without hesitation she automatically said Green Day’s album, American Idiot. Every song on there, she claimed, is perfection. Back in the day when this album first came out, I actually went to the concert, believe it or not. But since then, I have not really listened to any of Green Day’s music. For this assignment, I gave the album a shot, and began listening to the songs.  Right away I understood what Rachel was talking about. The lyrics to Green Day’s songs are extremely powerful, with clever messages and good beats. Usually this is not the type of music that I would listen to, but I’m glad that she recommended it, for the songs were truly great!

The reason Rachel loves this album so much, is because of the great lyrics and beats. She likes how the songs actually have some meaning to them besides your typical “let’s just dance” and “put your hands up” radio songs. I would have to agree with her on that. I do enjoy those catchy radio songs, but the reason I am fond of this album is because Green Day has artistically mixed clever lyrics with catchy rhythms, creating a musical masterpiece. Rachel also likes how on this album, there is a song for every mood. If she needs to be fired up and energized she puts on Holiday, if she is in a somewhat somber mood, she puts on Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Each song compliments her mood, and enhances her emotions for each situation. I totally agree with that. The album is complex and diverse, which is extremely refreshing.

After listening to the album and Rachel’s explanation as to why she is so fond of this CD, I have become more aware of the powerful influence music has on our lives. Music can take any emotion and either highlight it or change it, depending on the song you are listening to and the mood to which you are feeling. There is no other art form, in my opinion, that has this much control over our emotions. By simply listening to a great song, we are instantaneously put into a better mood. The reason why music has such an impact on our lives is because there is a song for everyone and for every emotion. Where some people may not be fond of a particular type of art form or theatrical presentation, everyone enjoys music. Because all humans let music into their lives with open arms, it is the single most powerful art form out there, in my opinion. Music has a strong influential force on people worldwide, swaying people’s emotions by its moving melodies and lyrics.

Exercise #7 Part 1

            Music, people say, is magical. It is an art that moves people to emotional places they have never before been. Music has the power to bring people from their deepest sorrows to their most brilliant ecstasies. But not all music has the same effect on everyone. For me, the music that moves me the most is ones that are fast paced and up beat. For others, however, they feel the most connected to slower songs, or sultry jazz. It truly just depends on the individual and his or her own taste.

            I am an extreme lover of all music. If you were to look at my IPod, you’d probably be confused as to who would own such an eclectic array of tunes together in one library. Since I like all kinds of music, from pop to alternative and everything in between, I have it all in there. But the songs that move me the most are the ones with an upbeat rhythm and catchy lyrics. I know it may seem shallow and dumb to like the catchy pop songs that are over played on the radio, but I do. There is something about those upbeat songs that put me in a energized, happier state of mind, even when I am stressed out about school or sad over friendship conflicts.

For this exercise I constructed a playlist on my IPod titled YOLO (you only live once) and filled it with songs that move me the most- upbeat songs.

Songs on my playlist:

-Payphone- Maroon 5

-Shake it Out- Florence and the Machine

-Shake- Jesse McCartney

-What You Know About Little Secrets- The White Panda

-Take a Walk- Passion Pit

-Somebody That I Used To Know- Gotye

-A$$ Back Home- Gym Class Heroes

-Wild Ones- Flo Rida

-Starships- Nicki Minaj

-Opposite of Adults- Chiddy Bang

-Take Me Out- Franz Ferdinand

-Cousins- Vampire Weekend

-Lights- Ellie Goulding

-Tonight is the Night- Outasight

-Waka Waka- Shakira

-We Are Young- Fun

-Glad You Came- The Wanted

-Call You Girlfriend- Robyn

Right As Rain- Adele

            I listened to this playlist, and only the playlist, for a week as of yesterday. Every time that I would turn my iPod on shuffle, I instead put this playlist on. I listened to these songs every morning when I got ready for school, when I was driving, walking with my dog, showering, or randomly throughout the day. While I was listening to these songs, I could feel myself getting into a better mood than before. It was like the music had control of my emotional spectrum, and about one minute into the first song, it already twisted the knob to full blast- happiness. I still was not sure why I was so moved by these songs- and then it hit me. I spend my days so overwhelmed with my daily stresses that I need something in which to drown out my nonstop chatter and just relax. This music is just the fix. The lyrics aren’t too deep that I find myself getting caught up in heavy underlying messages, but instead find myself getting lost in the beats, focusing on the pounding rhythms and not on my stressful days.

            Music truly does help me calm down and separate myself from my typical stresses. It also seems to put me in a happier mood than before, due to the upbeat rhythms and catchy lyrics. Just by listening to my YOLO playlist, I can feel myself becoming more at ease than ever before. I will continue trying to listen to music more often throughout my day when I feel overwhelmed, for I now know that music truly can bring me back to Earth.

Exercise 6 Part 2

Friendships are extremely complex relationships, especially when they are between the opposite genders. Many people think that males and females can be friends with each other without ever developing deeper feelings, but that is not the case. After interviewing five different people in regards to this topic, I have come to the conclusion that within any male-female friendship, there has been or will be, at least on one side of the friendship, romantic thoughts or feelings.

            The first person I interviewed was my good friend Erin. She is someone who is primarily friends with guys, for guys are a lot more relaxed and drama free compared to girls. Erin believes strongly that males and females can be friends without ever having to worry about it turning into something more. To prove her case, she describes the close, friendship-only relationship that she has with her male friend, Will. Will and her have been the best of friends ever since they first met each other in elementary school. Erin says that because neither Will nor her have ever had any romantic feelings towards one another, that it proves that males and females can be friends. However, after listening to her reasoning I am still not convinced. Even though Erin may not like any of her guys friends on a deeper level, it does not mean that her guy friends have and/or do like her. Since I know for a fact that at least at one time in their friendship, Erin’s guy friends (with the exception of Will) have thought of her as more than just a friend, guys and girls cannot coincide without the threat of developing intimate feelings.

            Another person I interviewed was my sister, Tyler. Tyler said, contrary to Erin’s strong belief, that guys and girls cannot be just friends. She tells me through personal experience, that throughout that course of all of her friendships with a guy, she or her guy friend have undergone the questioning feelings of taking their relationship to a new level. Another person I interviewed, my friend Jess, said similar things to Tyler. She said that although they may start out as just friends, sometime the physical connection and attraction between men and women are too strong to not develop these feelings. Even with these feelings, Tyler and Jess still carry out stable friendships with males, but they are always aware that anytime their friendship may be threatened by a too powerful physical attraction.

            Contrary to Tyler and Jess, my friends Ben and Josh do not think that co-sex friendships are doomed by the threat of becoming girlfriend- boyfriend. The majority of their friends are girls, and they do not see anything wrong with that. For Ben and Josh, they have always had a ton of girl friends, and never once have they felt that thei physical attraction to one of them has harmed their relationship. Josh told me that although he may be attracted to some of his girl friends, because they are his friends and nothing more, he would never act on it. He thinks that physical attraction is a natural, subconscious thing that is constantly happening, and if every time a boy or a girl who are in a relationship act on their attraction, then there would be no co-sex friendships. Since that is not the case, and clearly there are co-sex friendships, males and females can be friends. I, however, disagree. Just because they don’t act on their thoughts of intimacy regarding their friends, doesn’t mean that it is not there and not threatening their friendship. Although Josh and Ben do have a good point, it is still proven invalid: just because one doesn’t act on said emotions, doesn’t mean that they aren’t threatening ones relationship from under the surface.

            I am someone who has an equal number of girl friends and guy friends. However, I still think that my girl friends are more stable than my guy friends because the friendships I have with my guy friends are constantly being threatened by the possibility of becoming more than friends. From personal experience, I have had times when I have acted on those feelings, and have turned guy friends into boyfriends, and things were great while we were dating. But I have also had times when I have not or my guy friend has not shared in the same hopes of taking our friendship to the next level, and as a result, our friendship became awkward and nonexistent. Due to those past experiences as well as analyzing the different opinions from my peers, I have come to the conclusion that male and female friendships are always going to be threatened due to natural physical attractions.

Exercise #6 Part 1

            There are so many fun activities that one can do in life. However, due to barriers in the form of high costs, little free time, and fear, people are restricted from completing them. Five activities that I would love to do are sky diving, going on an upside-down rollercoaster, watch the sun set and rise, swim with dolphins, and go camping. Since I could not complete all of these activities in a week, I decided to pick just one. The one fun activity that I chose to follow through on is watching the sun set and rise.

            On the first Saturday of vacation, I spent the night at my cousin’s house. My cousins and I are extremely close, and every time that we are in each others company, we always end up having the best of times, because we always find ourselves doing the most outrageous activities. I knew that if I wanted to complete one of my fun activities, I would have most luck proposing it to them. After sharing with them my list of ideas, we decided that watching the sun set and rise was the perfect fit. It doesn’t cost anything to look at the sky, when most of my ideas do, and it is easy to watch sun, because you can do it anywhere. It also ended up being a wonderful night for sky gazing, for Princeton, NJ was a pleasant 80 degrees, so we wouldn’t be cold staying outside. Once night time started approaching, we all went outside on their patio, set up comfortably on the comfy chairs, and watched in awe as the sun began to disappear behind the trees and out of the sky completely. We then made our way back inside, set our alarm to wake us up before the sun rose, and headed to sleep. When the alarm went off in the pitch black sky, we all stumbled out of bed, and headed back outside to our gazing set up. As we sat and waited for the sun to peak its head over the towering trees, we chatted and laughed sleepily. At last the sky began to lighten, and the whole landscape was lit up with soft colors. We stayed outside until the sun was fully up, and morning had officially came. Then, we made our way back to bed with accomplished smiles on our faces.

            I was happy that we were able to accomplish that goal. Seeing the sun set and rise was an extremely powerful thing to witness. Never before was I fully aware of Mother Nature’s beauty, until now. Although it was subtle and something that happens daily, I completely took the sun’s beauty for granted. But after witnessing it, especially with people I love, I am more humbled.

            Some major roadblocks that keep people from completing fun activities include money, time, and fear. If one is not fortunate to have an endless supply of cash, they are prohibited from taking part in some of the more expensive fun activities. For me, my goal of swimming with dolphins has not yet been accomplished because I not only don’t have the time to fly to a tropical location, but I also don’t have the money to be spending on extra things like that. Time is another huge set back. The people of today’s world are always moving fast and never slowing down. They, like me, cram their days full of activities from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed, most of which do not bring happiness to their lives. Because of this, they do not have the time in their day to spend doing something that is not a necessary activity, such as those listed on my fun list. Also, fear can play a big role in holding people back. For me, I am afraid of upside down roller coasters. However, I really want to go on one. It doesn’t matter how often I go to amusement parks and wait in line for the crazy, upside-down rides, I always chicken out at the last minute, never going on one. If I could just overcome my fear, then it would open me up to a whole no realm of fun activities that would bring happiness and joy to my life.

            Although it may seem hard and unnecessary to spend time and effort completing fun activities, it is actually an important thing to do. By taking part in things that bring you happiness, you are therefore lightening up your day, and making your life a more joyous one, which is extremely important and necessary!

Exercise #5 Part 2

            Spending quality time with a family is a gift that is priceless. The joyous moments spent with someone you love and who loves you can brighten up your day and leave you happier then ever. Although at times it may seem impossible to spend quality time with those you love, because of your busy schedules, it is something that is worthwhile. For this assignment, I decided to spend quality time with my older sister, Tyler. And I was extremely happy that I did so.

            Tyler is my best friend in the entire world. It has been so hard for me this year, for she has been away at Boston College and I don’t get a chance to see her as much as I would like. But this past week Tyler had off for Easter, giving me a chance to finally see her. She came home two weekends ago, and the very first day of her arrival I snatched her away to have a sister bonding night. First, we went to Starbucks and got our usual order- two grande Caramel Macchiatos. Before she went to school, we would go to Starbucks every Saturday and order this drink, and then we would sit and catch up until we had to go home. Sometimes we would be there for 10 minutes, and other times we would find ourselves chatting for 2 hours. That day, we were there for around an hour, for we still had other places to hit on our “welcome home” date.

            Next we went to Wards Berry Farm, the local farm store where my sister and I both work. She wanted to go and visit some of our fellow employees and friends while she was home, and thought it was a good a time as ever to do it today. At Wards she was catching up with everyone, sharing some of her funny college stories, and listening intently to their stories about school here in Sharon. We stayed there for a while, but then continued on our journey, because we had a dinner to catch!

            The two of us headed to Bertuccis, Tyler’s favorite restaurant and our typical sister dinner destination. During dinner, we continued to fill each other in on what has taken place since we were last together. It was great to hear about all of her new friends and classes that she is taking, but it made me sad to realize how distant we have become. After dinner, we returned back to our house and watched my favorite movie, The Other Guys (another tradition of ours). Once again, we had a great time sharing laughs, quoting all of the lines, and reminiscing in the previous times we have seen this movie together.

            At the end of the night, I told Tyler how happy I was to have caught up with her. I told her that we need to make sure to communicate more than our typical, brief phone conversations, because staying in touch is extremely important. I told her how happy I am when we talk and see each other, and how I don’t want that to change when she returns to college. College is a major boundary that keeps us from seeing each other as much as we both would like. Since that isn’t going to change anytime soon, we decided that we need to figure out a way to stay in contact on a more regular basis. After some discussion, we decided that weekly video chats are necessary, that way we can see each other instead of just hearing each others’ voices on the phone or talking via text message. We also agreed that I should visit her more often. Since she only lives a half hour away, she is now settled in to her college surroundings, and I can drive, stopping by is a plausible remedy.

            I’m very happy and optimistic that we will be communicating and keeping in touch more now. After spending that bonding night with Tyler, not only did we both have a great time, we now established a solution to staying in touch even while she is at college. I hope that it will work out, for simply being in Tyler’s presence or talking with her on the phone makes me feel happier.

Exercise #5 Part 1

              This past week, I have tried to spend more time with my friend Lia, and partake in more experiences than I typically would not have in the past. My life is extremely busy, each day jammed full of extracurriculars and homework, that I normally don’t spend time with my friends during the week. However, I made the decision to be open to more experiences and allow myself to have fun. I also wanted to spend more time with my friend Lia. Every time that we hang out I always have a blast! Not only is she extremely funny and makes me laugh, she also knows how to calm me down from my stressed out life. I knew that it was going to take some work to not get frazzled about school, but I also knew that it was important for me to experience some more fun in my life.

            Starting on Thursday, I began to say yes as much as possible while hanging out with Lia. Originally, it was just going to be us and two other people at Crescent Ridge after school. But when we got there, they asked me if it was okay to invite some of our other friends to meet up with us. I didn’t want it to be a crazy night, but since I was saying yes to people, I decided to say it was alright. I’m glad I did too, because when everyone got there, we all had a great time! I haven’t laughed that much in a while, and it was wonderful because I was talking with people that I typically don’t see that often.

When everyone finished their ice creams, Lia asked me if I wanted to join her for dinner at Takara, a sushi restaurant in Canton. I have only had sushi once before, and I was not a fan. Also, the idea of eating raw fish kind of freaks me out, but I was trying to be more open, so I said yes. Then two other people asked if they could join us, and I, once again, said yes. The four of us all jumped in my car, and we headed off to Takara. When we got there, they ordered an innumerable amount of sushi, all full of weird types of fish and eel that I would never have before wanted to eat. At first, I was very apprehensive about eating the sushi, for I didn’t know what any of it was and I was not skilled in the art of chopsticks, so it kept falling onto my plate. But as the dinner progressed, and I began to warm up to the food, the chopsticks, and the company, I found myself having a great time. The night flew by, and before I knew it, we had been there for two hours! Realizing that we should probably leave the restaurant since we were done eating and there were people waiting for a table, we got up and made our way back to my car.

I was thinking that I would just drive them home since it was getting late, but when Lia suggested that we go back to her house to watch a movie, I decided that my sleeping could wait. There, we had a great night full of joking and movie watching. It turned out to be a great time, and Im really glad that I decided to go. With my curfew rapidly approaching, we said goodnight to Lia, and I drove everyone home.

This same thing happened every night for the rest of the long weekend. I took hold of all of the invites and hang outs that I got, instead of dismissing most of them to do homework, like I normally do. I used to be worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish my school work and that I would fall behind in my classes if I spent too much time with my friends. However, I was mistaken. This weekend I managed to see my friends almost double the amount that I would on a typical long weekend, while also completing all of my work. I was so successful at balancing my time this weekend, that I now know that I am capable of having fun and also being academically successful! I had the best time this weekend because I allowed myself time to relax and enjoy my high school years, instead of stuck behind mounds of worksheets and textbook assignments.

On Saturday when I hung out with Lia again, she mentioned what a great time she had this weekend, and I agreed. By spending more time with her and partaking in more memorable experiences, I can find myself becoming closer with her, and my other friends. It’s extremely important to be able to have a close friend that can help you out and with whom you can relax and have a good time with, and Lia is just that. By simply spending an extra night a week with her, I can feel myself becoming better friends with her, and having more fun. Hanging out with friends is extremely valuable, and was a thing that I used to take for granted. I used to put that at the bottom of my “To Do List”, not seeing the importance it has on one’s life. However, I now can see how wrong I was. I am going to make sure that I balance my schedule better to allow myself to spend more time relaxing and enjoying life with my friends. Life is too short to not cease the day, and live every moment in its fullest. For that reason, I am going to make an effort to have more fun and not take a single moment for granted.

Exercise #4 Part 2

            Although it may seem trivial, saying “thank you” really goes a long way. People in today’s society do not say thanks enough, either because they are lazy, or they just don’t think about it. However, being polite is extremely powerful; it can make someone’s day a lot brighter, which can have lasting effects. Last week, for one day, I made a conscience effort to be more polite, and not just to people I know, but to those I don’t know as well. The results were greater than I could ever have expected.

            In the beginning of the day, thanking people took some effort. Granted, I am typically a polite girl, but I wanted to make sure that I go above and beyond today. So, as I was walking into school, instead of going right to my normal spot, I stayed outside, and held the door for the person coming up behind me. Now this person wasn’t right behind me; she was just getting out of her car as I was going into the school. I debated with myself if I should wait and keep holding the door until she came, or if I should just go on inside like I normally would. Because today was my polite day, so I waited and held the door. It was a good thing I did, too, because she was carrying a lot of things, and I knew that it would have been a struggle for her to open the door by herself.

            “Thank you so much!” she said with a huge smile. Although it was just holding the door, I could tell that she really meant it and was genuinely happy. That had an infectious effect, brightening my day.

            Alright, one thank you down, a whole day to go. This shouldn’t be that hard. As I was walking up the stairs of the library, I noticed that waiting for me at the top was someone holding the door.

            “Thank you!” I say as I grab the door from her hands, and I was about to walk right through into the library, when I stop myself again. Hold the door, Devon. Be polite. So I waited and held the door for the next person coming up behind me. Once again, the person, although I have never seen him before, gave me a hearty thanks, for merely holding open a door.

            I continue like this for the remainder of the first part of the day, stopping and reminding myself to thank people and be more polite instead of rushing through the day like I typically do. As the day progressed, however, being polite came naturally, and by lunch block, it required no effort at all. When I went to the bathroom in the beginning of lunch to wash my hands, I thanked the girl next to me for letting me use the sink. I also thanked her for letting me reach over to grab the paper towels. It may seem like overkill, but these excessive “thank you”s came naturally to me by then, and was not forced at all.

            At the end of the day, my last period class was in the 300s, and I had stayed after with that teacher until about 3:15. As I left the class, I thanked my teacher for the help, and looked back as I saw her face light up with a smile. The day is almost over; I don’t have to be polite for that much longer! But then it clicked: I didn’t have to make a conscience effort and force myself to be polite, it was coming naturally and I actually enjoyed it.

            Then I spotted two janitors sweeping the 300s hallway and chit chatting. Normally I would have walked right by them and continued to my car, pretending I never saw them. Today is different, and I am different. So, I stopped and thanked them for sweeping and to have a great day. This caught them off guard, because they clearly were not used to students thanking them. They both returned my thanks with a “your welcome”, showing that they were touched. Their happiness made me happy as well.

Because I left the school that day in such a great mood, I decided to be more polite and thank people more. Never before did I know how powerful a thank you can have on not only the person being thanked, but also the thanker. 

Exercise #4 Part 1

            I am blessed to say that my community fosters a surplus of genuine people, all of whom inspire me. However, there is one person in particular who I greatly look up to. She is a close friend of mine in the senior class who I really got to know better just this year. There are so many wonderful qualities that she possesses that makes me inspired to be a better person, and to be more like her. She is a genuine, good natured, hard working, funny, smart, and an all around beautiful person. I am extremely lucky to not only have her in my life, but to also call her my friend.

            This girl is an authentic person, who doesn’t have a phony bone in her body. That is extremely enlightening, because in today’s society where materialism and wealth infiltrates and corrupts even the best of people, it can be hard to find a person who is incorrigible to fakeness. Her strength to be her own person is a quality that I value and respect. Sometimes I do fall victim to societal pressures, conforming and altering who I am, due to normal teen-aged self confidence issues. However, this girl does not. Never have I once seen her falter or stray even the slightest from who she is, or show any hint of confidence issues. I look up to the quality, wishing that I too can one day be that confident in myself like she is in herself. When I am in her presence, because she is so comfortable with herself, it makes me more comfortable with myself. To have the power to make others feel more confident in them by just being so real is truly amazing. But she can.

            She is also one of the nicest people I know. It’s not the fake and forced niceness that one can read a mile away, but rather a true kind that you know is genuine. Her kindness makes people around her, even those she does not know, like her. She is extremely well liked and known for her good nature, by simply performing random acts of kindness as minute as holding the door open for everyone, saying a surplus of “thank you”s, and complimenting her friends regularly. When I am with her, I begin to mirror her kind ways, taking on a piece of her good spirit. It makes me feel better about myself and my actions when I see the happiness I am bringing to others lives. Her kindness is a pure force that infects all who is lucky enough to be around her to not only mirror her good actions, but she also makes people genuinely happier. She brings out the best and me, inspiring me to be nicer.

            Another quality of hers that I am inspired by is her strong work ethic. She has an extremely balanced life; juggling a tough academic schedule, a social life, and extra curricular involvement with Theatre. She is extremely pragmatic, and it shows through her immaculate academic profile and stock full afterschool schedule. Yet, she never is too stressed out or frantic, unlike me who finds myself breaking down on a biweekly basis. I wish that I could be as hard working and balanced as she is. I am truly inspired by her talent to keep up a full schedule, both academically and socially, while also maintaining a calm nature.

            If I were to possess the qualities that inspire me about my friend, I would find myself doing some great things. I would have more confidence in myself and my abilities, which would allow me to take more risks, and thus reap more rewards. I would not be fearful of failing or embarrassment, two things that currently hold me back from doing certain activities. I would also have a more balanced schedule and thus have more time to help others in my community, bringing happiness not only to their lives but also to mine. I am going to make a conscience effort to be more like my friend, and to better my life and the lives’ of those around me.

Happiness Project Assignment

                After completing this unit, I have learned a lot about what a fulfilling life is, and how to achieve it. The “good life” is one that is full of happiness. Every aspect of life, be it work, family, friends, or hobbies, should contribute in a positive manner to ones over all cheerfulness. A flourishing life usually involves being surrounded by people you love and who love you. You know that you are living a “good life” when you wake up in the morning and you can’t wait to start the day; you can’t wait to be happy and you look forward to taking part in all of life’s activities, for they all bring you bliss. To be happy, it does not matter if you are extremely wealthy. Money does not affect ones over all happiness; however it is important that you have enough money to sustain yourself, because when you start to fall below the poverty line, sorrow is not far behind. Another aspect to living an exultant life is variety. As shown in the movie Yes Man, Carl used to say no to everything, and instead of living an exciting life full of new adventures, he stuck to his basic, daily schedule, turning down every invitation he got. Because of that, Carl was extremely unhappy, and it wasn’t until he stepped out of his comfort box and began taking on new experiences that he finally felt happy and satisfied with life. But not everyone lives a happy life. It takes some work. However, everyone, if they put enough effort in, can live a flourishing life full of happiness. For this project, I chose to look closer at a girl whose life is blessed, yet she is still not the happiest she can be.

                The girl I chose to create a happiness program for lives a fairly typical life. She is a hard working teenager, who has high goals and aspirations. The main cause for her unhappiness comes from stress and self-inflicted pressure. She puts pressure on herself to match up with her two successful sisters, her friends, and her other family members. Even though it is not intentional, she is constantly comparing herself to those around her; her envious tendencies end up causing her a lot of unhappiness. Envy is one thing that is very detrimental to one’s happiness. When you are constantly looking over the fence at what other people have, and not being happy with what you have, you are let down and filled up with sorrow. Because she has issues with comparing herself to others, she finds herself unhappy. She also inflicts pressure upon herself to level up with these people, and that causes her stress, anxiety, and therefore grief. Another cause for her stress is her goal for perfection. She spends a lot of her time doing hours and hours of school work in hopes of achieving that glorious A on her report card, like both of her sisters have in the past. However, grades are not everything, and one can be successful and happy with life even if one isn’t a straight A student. The pressure that she puts on herself to be great academically causes her insane amounts of stress, and leads to unhappiness; she stresses out leading up to, during, and after every exam. The leading cause to unhappiness and stress in life is the pressure that she puts upon herself to be perfect, like the people she is constantly comparing herself against.

                There are several things that she can do to make her life more enjoyable and less stressful. First, she needs to overcome her major problem with comparing herself to others. To do this, I have told her that instead of spending time over analyzing people and situations, she should fill up her extra time doing things that she loves, with people she loves. That way, if she is always preoccupied with different activities, she will find herself enjoying her days more and comparing herself with others less. She should follow the laughter and fun strategy for living a happy life. The strategy says that if you spend your time doing things that are fun and make you laugh, then you will in turn be happy. The logic behind it is, when you are laughing, you physically cannot experience sadness or emotional pain. So if you find activities that make you giggle, you will also find yourself “laughing away your worries”. This girl has no problem with laughing and enjoying herself, it is just the issue of finding time to enjoy herself. If she can eliminate the useless time spent over analyzing situations and comparing herself to others, then she will have time to laugh more often, and therefore she will find herself being happier.

Another thing that she needs to do before she can have a flourishing life is she needs to accept herself for who she is. There is no way that she can learn to truly love others and enjoy life before she loves herself. Mr. Rogers, a man known for his optimism and happy visage, always stressed the importance of loving and understand all people, for when you love others, that love is reciprocated. Although loving yourself may sound like a simple task to do, it is not so easy for this girl. The pressure she puts upon herself to level up with her peers and siblings is insane. She is always self-aware and focuses on her imperfections. Because she only sees herself for the flaws she has, she is saddened. She needs to find a way to be less critical about herself, and channel Mr. Roger’s optimism. For that problem, I told her that she should spend a little time everyday going over a list of things in her life that she is thankful for. When you reflect on all the things that you are thankful for, it makes you happier because you realize how lucky your life is. And after she spends enough time generating these lists, she will finally realize that she has a lot to be thankful for, and plenty of reason to love her life and herself.

Spending more time in nature and outside, I told her, will also make her happier. This past week, since the weather has been lovely, she has been outside doing homework. Usually doing homework causes her stress and unhappiness, but since she was outside, it made the process not that bad. This happiness strategy is called biophilia. It says that when you are outside and immersed in nature, you will find yourself in a calmer and happier state of mind. Nature has a powerful calming and peaceful force that truly puts the people in it in a more pleasant state of mind. Spending time outside, like going on more hikes or simply doing homework on her deck, will make her a lot happier.

Living a happy life is not easy by any means, but it can be accomplished by anyone who is willing to try. This girl on the outside seems to live a happy life, but in reality there are things that she can be doing to make her life even more pleasant. The major source of her unhappiness comes from self-inflicted pressure that she has due to her envious and over-analyzing tendencies. To become happier, I told her, she first needs to stop putting too much pressure on herself, love herself for who she is, and spend more time doing things that will truly make her happy. Examples of that include being outside and hanging with the people she loves and who love her. This girl needs to stop spending time stressing out about life, and instead, spending time enjoying it. She needs to take the same advice given to Carl in Yes Man and, “Live your life! You won’t regret it!”. For when she does that, she will find herself living a flourishing and “good” life at last.

Exercise #3 Part 2

                Fear is a powerful force that can take hold of any situation, and insinuate negativity throughout. Everyone, no matter how old they are or what nationality they are from, experiences fear at some point in their lives. Fear can be in the form of the minutest of things such as caterpillars, to more abstract concepts like love or death. For me, I am afraid of a lot of things. Not all of my fears are the most serious, but they all, for the most part, cause me extreme anxiety and inhibit me from carrying out some activities that I may have wanted to take part in. Five things that I am afraid of are walking my dog in the dark, leeches, ticks, relationships, and death. After reading the different options for this particular assignment, I was very apprehensive of picking this one. But I decided that if I don’t face my fears now, then it will be harder to face them later on in life.

                The fear that I tried to overcome was my fear of walking my dog at night. Granted, Sharon is a very safe town, and rarely does one hear of any night time murderers or attacks, but that still did not stop me from being afraid of going out at night. I would always make my mom or dad take my dog Molly out once it got dark, because they knew how afraid of it I was. But I made a conscious choice to tackle this fear once and for all. So last Friday night, after I got back from my last festival rehearsal, and I told my mom that I was taking Molly out, she was shocked. She told me to not worry and that nothing would happen. I agreed with her, put Molly on her leash, and headed out the door.

                Once I shut the front door, and walked out of the small light casting down from my front porch, fear set in. Almost automatically all of my worst fears regarding the dark (murderer, rapist, rabid animals, etc) crept through my mind, causing me to stop in my tracks. I was about to turn around, when I felt a tug on the leash in my hand. Looking back, I saw Molly wagging her tail at rapid speed, with a big smile on her face. I knew that she needed to go to the bath room, and that I needed to conquer my fear, so I took one big, deep breath, closed my eyes, and continued on the walk.

                I advanced down the street, focusing only on my dog right in front of me, so that my eyes wouldn’t wander, and I wouldn’t be scared of the typical woodland creatures that live in my neighborhood. This worked, and before I knew it I had reached the end of my street. I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe that I made it all the way down my street at nighttime, without turning back or being afraid. This extra boost of confidence made the walk back to my house so much easier, for I wasn’t afraid anymore.

                I am so glad that I conquered my fear of walking outside at night. Now I can take that experience, something that used to bring my anxiety and nerves, and turn it into a happy one. I now know that for me, one way to conquer a fear such as walking outside at night, is by distracting myself and focusing in on one thing to take my mind off of what it is exactly that I am doing, kind of like Flow. Instead of doing the typical Flow examples of counting tiles or finger tap combinations, I honed in on my dog and her walking patterns, and before I knew it I was already half way done with the walk. Now I am able to walk outside at night, conquering my fear, and actually enjoy myself. On the walks I can clear my mind, as I am surrounded by the crisp, fresh air, and the nature around me. I can honestly say that I even look forward to those nightly walks. By conquering that fear, I am more confident that someday I can conquer my other fears as successfully as I did this one.

Exercise #3 Part 1

Love Exercise 3 Part 1

75 Simple Pleasures

1.       Chocolate chip cookies

2.       Baking cookies

3.       Pumpkin Iced Coffee

4.       Patting my dog

5.       Going on a walk with my dog

6.       Stepping on the crunchy leaves

7.       Skipping

8.       Laughing

9.       Eating a crisp grape

10.   Blowing bubbles

11.   Running through sprinklers

12.   Shopping

13.   Eating ice cream

14.   Strawberry picking

15.   Apple picking

16.   Blueberry picking

17.   Making a smoothie

18.   Saying hello to people in the hallway

19.   Giving hugs

20.   Receiving hugs

21.   Making lemonade

22.   Brushing my hair

23.   Getting a hair cut

24.   Painting my nails

25.   Smell of clean clothes

26.   Taking a bubble bath

27.   Walking on the beach

28.   Playing in the sand

29.   Building a sand castle

30.   Reading a nice book

31.   Talking to an old friend

32.   Doodling

33.   Calling my grandma

34.   Skyping with my cousins

35.   Jumping through waves

36.   Doing cartwheels

37.   Playing in the snow

38.   Going on a run

39.   Playing field hockey

40.   Walking bare foot on grass

41.   Hula hooping

42.   Watching The Other Guys

43.   Dancing

44.   Doing yoga

45.   Going jazz squares

46.   Chugging an entire water bottle as fast as a can

47.   Peeling an orange in one peel

48.   Unwrapping a Hershey Kiss

49.   Listening to Move Your Feet

50.   Dancing when no one’s watching

51.   Smell of freshly brewed coffee

52.   Walking into Whole Foods

53.   Watching the sunset

54.   Watching the sunrise

55.   Laughing so hard you cry

56.   Writing on the first page of a new notebook

57.   The smell of a new book

58.   Doing well on an exam

59.   Playing Just Dance on Wii

60.   Sleeping in late

61.   Brunch

62.   Hanging out with friends

63.   Taking the train

64.   Going on a boat

65.   Kayaking

66.   Driving down a wide street

67.   Painting

68.   Sewing

69.   Singing in the shower

70.   Tie-dying a t-shirt

71.   Drawing a smiley face onto a steamy window

72.   Playing with my dog

73.   Walking on the ridge of the sidewalk

74.   Making snow angels

75.   Having family dinners

This past Saturday, I tried to incorporate as many simple pleasures as I could in order to make my day brighter and more enjoyable. I played Just Dance on Wii with some of my cast members of The Cripple of Inishmaan, I went on a nice walk with my dog in the morning, I laughed as much as possible (which, I know, is very hard to believe;)), I gave and received many hugs after we lost in semi finals, and when I came home that night, I sang extremely loudly in the shower to Maroon 5. Although the day should have been a sad one, because we didn’t move on in the theatre competition, it actually was one of the best I have had in a while. I made sure that I was going to make the most out of that day, by not only doing some of the things listed on my “simple pleasures” but also by keeping up a positive attitude. At first it was hard to be optimistic and happy, but as the day continued, and my stress decreased, genuine happiness set in.

One thing that really helped make my day happier, was laughing. I usually laugh a lot, but on Saturday I made sure to laugh even more. It was like during the laugh yoga class: at first the laughing may be forced and awkward, but after I while it becomes genuine and contagious. Laughing really did make my day a brighter one, bringing true happiness to not only me, but the people around me who caught my case of the giggles. People at the host school knew me as the “giggle girl”, for I was always smiling and laughing. That made me happy to know that I was being associated and known for a good quality, making my day brighter.

I also made sure that I would try to interact with more people and say hello more often. Although the simple act of greeting somebody may sound trivial, it actually had a huge impact on my day. Because I was friendlier than usual, I had a chance to meet and get to know people that I normally did not talk to. New friendships rapidly blossomed out of my greetings, which led to some great experiences and happy moments. I’m really glad that I stuck with my extroverted pact on Saturday, for it made my day, and future days to come, more enjoyable out of the new friendships that I formed.

Along with new friendships that were created from being more social on Saturday, I also had a great day due to the experiences that I got involved in. Normally, I would not be the one to dance with strangers, but on Saturday I did. Set up in the main room was a Wii game with Just Dance. Because I was making an effort to complete as many simple pleasures as possible, I grabbed two of my friends from the cast, and ran over to the dancing area. There, we had a ball dancing goofily and laughing hysterically at the dance moves that we were required to do. I’m really glad that I did that, and broke out of my shell, because I ended up having a great time, sharing lots of laughs, and making new dance friends in the process.

All in all, my day was very enjoyable. I had a set plan to try my hardest to keep up a happy attitude, while also completing some of my listed simple pleasures. By successfully taking part in many of my pleasures, my day was completely transformed from a sad, over packed say of stressful competitions, to an upbeat, fun day full of laughing, friendships, and good experiences. From now on, I am going to make a solid attempt at completing my simple pleasures more often, for they truly made my day, and me, extremely happy.

Exercise #2 Part 2: Things Taken For Granted

It is easy, especially today, to take things for granted. As a society, we are programmed to always look ahead and keep pushing forward, forgetting to stop for a second and actually absorb all of the wonderful things taking place around us. These past 2 weeks or so, I have been more aware of this growing problem that I find myself falling victim to. A major focus of anger and resentment that my peers and I have to deal with on a daily basis is Sharon High School. Instead of actually accepting what a great school we are given, and being thankful for the beautiful and enriching environment we are lucky enough to learn in, the student body (myself included) counts down the minutes to when we will be free at last from this dungeon of stress and hatred. We are constantly taking Sharon High School for granted, and hone in on the negatives instead of the enumerable positives.

            Although I have had several horrible experiences at Sharon High, I have also experienced the best of times. This is the place where I have met my best friends, the people who have helped me through the worst of times. Without going to a school that fosters friendship and good people, I would have never been able to enjoy my most prized experiences. The people that I have met through out my journey at Sharon High are some of the best people I have, and probably will, ever meet. I got a chance to meet and become closer with my two best friends, Jackie and Erin, who mean more to me than anything. If I never attended Sharon High School I would have never had the chance to let those friendships blossom into what they are today.

            Along with the friends, I also have done things in Sharon High that I have never done before, and have really come to enjoy myself. The two extracurricular activities that I have stuck with and learned to love while at SHS are field hockey and costumes. I always take these two teams for granted. When thinking of my field hockey team, my initial reaction is ouch. My field hockey team has some serious warm ups that put a lot of strain on my body, causing me physical pain. It is also an all girl team, which can sometimes be too much to handle. When there are lots of girls thrown together in the same group, drama is never too far behind. But aside from the conflicts and soreness that comes with being apart of SHSVFH, that team also is home to some great people, and even some of my best friends. By being apart of SHSVFH I have been able to make friends and grow as an athlete, a player, and even a person. I always take the team for granted, even though without field hockey my high school experience would have been completely different, and probably not for the better.

Theatre is another team that I take for granted. The Sharon High Theatre Company is not only an accepting place full of diverse kids from all groups it is also a family. Every single person in the company is so accepting and have really helped me get through the stresses that ensue at SHS. By being apart of the costume team I have also had the chance to delve deeper into a strong passion of mine that before attending SHS I never really had a chance to explore fully- fashion. Luckily SHS has a team that I can explore my creative side in a field that I love. I have learned so much by being apart of costumes, from more intricate stitches to how to alter and construct garments at an advanced level, to learning more about myself and how to work in team environment. I find myself taking this team for granted because of the stress and pressure that goes along with it, but in reality I am so lucky to be apart of the theatre family.

Not only have these two teams let me find a true passion within me, which I didn’t know that I possessed, they also let me find out more about myself than I ever would have before. By being thrown into group environments in which other people depend on me, it made it so I began to value others over myself, a quality that I didn’t really have before hand. The two teams also made it so I could expand on my communicating and compromising skills, two extremely valuable qualities that are essential when dealing with a team. I have also found a leadership quality within me that I didn’t know I possessed, but one that has led me throughout my 3 years at Sharon High School successfully. I still at times find myself taking SHS for granted, and thinking of it as only a place of hate and stress, but in reality this is one of the best places I have ever been to, and I am lucky to call myself a Sharon Eagle.