One, Big Happy Blog Post #graded #rhetoricalmodes

Ok, I know I'm posting this on Thanksgiving, but before you go calling me pathetic you should know that I had no internet access until now. This was all pre-typed so I'm simply copy pasting from Word, which only takes like 2 minutes. Happy reading (ha, ha).

Happiness

1.  Happiness can either be joy or contentment, usually a specific feeling or experience can be both, but not at the same time. Joy is a surge of physical energy, which I can only describe as being from bubbles of emotion that lie right under your skin, buzzing with happiness that creates a tingle in your fingers and toes. Contentment, on the other hand, is an overall feeling of satisfaction that lasts longer with minimal physical effects (except for maybe a smile). For example, after winning first place you would feel joy, and after the celebration dinner and a good night’s sleep you would find that this joy was replaced by a content feeling of pride and accomplishment.

2. Recall, for a moment, that first day Hagrid brought Harry Potter to Diagon Alley. That was one of Harry’s first days of happiness. Before entering the wizarding world Harry had lived in a world that was less than suitable, living in a cabinet under the stairs amongst his “family” that showed little love, he was lacking happiness. This all changed once he felt the love and acceptance of his fellow wizards, found a connection to his real parents, and acquired wealth to buy items that brought a smile to his face like chocolate frogs and top notch broomsticks. Despite all that had happened before that day he had a change of perspective; he was happy.

3.  Happiness is what you make it. It can be the scent of ooey-gooey that curls through your house, making a difficult study session just a little bit better. It can be silent laughter in the response to the innocent baby giggles coming from the pew in front of you at church. It can be the feeling that surges through your veins when you figure out that you have just aced an ap comp test (not like I’ve ever experienced that..), making you want to do cartwheels down the hallway until you hit the wall.

4. After a week of exhausting, brain-draining final exams I returned home and proceeded to crash into my bed. The next day, I decided, was to be my personal vacation day. I awoke nose-to-nose with the snout of my dog and the pitter-patter of rain on the roof above me. Scene: me curled up in the overstuffed chair by the fireplace. A good book hanging from my fingertips. An oversized mug of coffee sitting within reach. A warm fluff of fur that I call my dog snuggled in on my lap. The only worry on my mind was what to eat for lunch. I was peaceful, rested and content. This, I realized, was happiness in its purest form.

5. It is not uncommon to hear the phrase “I’m so happy I could die” in our society, it’s even the title of one of Lady Gaga’s songs. In an ideal world where everyone and everything was happy this phrase would not exist, but in a world where sadness lurks about in the shadows this quote holds true. Just check a thesaurus. Happiness relates to light, peace, contentment, joy, and positivity whereas sadness is dark, despair, grief, and a removal of love. For some, sadness is so unbearable that they would rather accept death at a point of high happiness then face a fall to sadness.

6. When you are happy you see the world in a positive light. Now, the positivity varies, you could be positive enough to notice that your glass is half full or you could be so incredibly positive that you feel the need to wear one of those “Life is Good” shirts. Big-picture wise, the amount doesn’t matter because you are still happy. However, the world is constantly throwing negativity your way. When something (or things) brings your perspective from positive to negative (whether it be a traffic jam or a death) you lose that happiness. But, before you get all negative, remember that there is hope. The relationship works both ways. Positive experiences, such as feeling accomplished or seeing a smiling baby, build your perspective back up and make you happy once again.