Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happiness

Please answer the following questions. You must answer on your own and also write a comment to another person's response in your own response. Please write well keeping fluency and conventions in mind.

What values are most important in your life? What is true happiness? What do you need to be happy? Is there a correlation between success, money and happiness? (What defines success?) Please end by answering the following prompts: Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if.... AND True living is...

34 comments:

Katie H. said...

The values that are most important in my life are to not judge anyone until I really know them and to not let the little things in life get to me. I don't think that we can be truelly happy. I think that, when we get something or meet someone who makes us happy, that we will always want something more and want to meet another person. But there isn't an end to wanting more. What I need to be happy are my friends, my family, my boyfriend, my dogs, and not having a lot of stress in my life. If I have stress in my life I can't focus on living every moment to it's fullest. I don't think that success and money are related to happiness. It makes life a little easier to have more money, so that we aren't worrying about money all the time, but i don't think that it makes people happier. It just makes people greedy and want even more money. I think that what defines success is completing the goals that someone has for themselves or going after what they want to be. I don't think that success necessarily has to be some hot shot who's the CEO of a major company. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have friends who are there for me and have all my family to celebrate every special occasion, or even normal days with. True living is going after your dreams, and trying to be whoever you want to be in your life. It's living every day to the fullest and not taking any moment for granted.

Elycia O. said...

Most people say that money is happiness and that frustrates me because you could be the richest man in the world but be very lonely so what’s so good about that? Where as you could be the poorest man in the world and be having the time of you life. Money affects nothing. It can be a stress but it can also be an over used luxury. I believe true happiness comes from the heart. What you love to do will lead you to true happiness, who you are with and the people that love you the most will make your life the happiest it could ever be. Having God to rely on is a major factor. I believe that I can give all my stress and worries to him and live my life to its fullest because I believe that that is how it is supposed to be. It’s not how rich you are or how much you have it’s the people, the things you love and passion that make you happy. That’s all you need. My family and I are poor but I would not trade that any day to be a celebrity because I am very happy. I have friends that are the best friends I could ask for. I have a sport that I love to play. And I have God most of all. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I am with the people I love the most, I have a good relationship with God, and I am doing things that I love to do. I don’t need money to live happy. True living is taking every chance you can, not regretting things, loving everyone, not living confined, experiencing anything and everything, risking things, doing what you want/love to do even if people are doubting you, being yourself, not caring what others think, not caring about things that will only bring you down.

I disagree with Katie H. because you can be happy if you let yourself, yes we will always want more but that doesn't mean we aren't happy, if you are so worried about what you'll get next your wasting your life away when you could be having the time of your life. All you need is to ignore materialistic ways. I don't need what other people have yes I may want it but when it comes down to that pair of jeans I will always want and not wasting the rest of my life I choose the not wasting the rest of my life.

Anonymous said...

I partly agree with Katie; I think that happiness (just like any other emotion) is temporary for most people. It comes and goes depending on the events in our life. If I understand what Katie is saying correctly, a lot of us do always want more; and happiness is usually the goal of greediness, although it is usually not achieved. I believe that true happiness does exist though; and although it is temporary for most of us, life would not be worth living without it. Whether we get there from the people we love, the way we live our lives, or the measure of our success... it dosen't matter. What matters is that we are not self-destructive in achieving that goal. Money and wealth are self destructive ways of being happy. We fool ourlelves into thinking that material things will make us happy. We've all done it. We get really excited about the new shoes or phone or car and then forget a short time later. So finding happiness in ways other than through material things is important, because that is the kind that truly lasts.
Ten years from now I would be happy if either I was a ski bum or if I was traveling a lot. True living is finding out what you love and pursuing it, no matter what gets in your way.

katie said...

I try to value every moment in life and take advantage of every chance I get. I disagree with Katie H. when she says that we can't be truly happy. There will obviously be moments in life that will be hard to get through, but there are also moments when it is possible to feel true happiness. I don't believe that to be truly happy you must feel that way 24/7. I have experienced those highs and lows, and I can personally say I have felt true happiness in life. I don't think the stereotypical “successful” person and money are related to happiness. Yes, money can buy everything you would ever need, but do possessions really make you actually happy? For some people, living a ritzy lifestyle might make them content, for others, living a simple life might mean happiness. It all depends on the type of person you are. I think being successful means that you enjoy the way you live and find fulfillment in the way you live, whether it is extravagant or not. For me, I don’t care to have loads of money sitting around, the biggest house in the neighborhood, or the most expensive car. I mean, those things are nice and all, but I know that I wont find satisfaction in them. For me to be happy, I need friends, family, a roof over my head, and music. Friends and family obviously make me happy because they are the people who care about me and I can have an amazing time with. I need a house because I wouldn’t be a happy person if I was living on the streets. It doesn’t need to be a big house, but just somewhere I can live and feel safe. The last thing I said I needed to be happy was music. I can’t describe how music makes me feel. There is nothing like putting in my headphones and turning the volume all they way up so all I can hear is every sound of the instruments and the words vibrating my ear drums. I listen to music to release and without it I don’t know what I would do.

CodyK said...

The most important things in my life are my family and friends and basketball. True happiness to me is finding something that you love to do and being able to do it without having to worry about how much money your making. For me to be happy all I need is my friends and family and a beach. I don’t need very much but those three things are really important to me. I think there is a little bit of a correlation between money and happiness because of how much are society is based off of money. Money is a big issue in most peoples lives and can definitely be a plus when we are talking about true happiness. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have graduated from collage and am living in a place where I can where shorts year round. I will be happy if I have found a job that I enjoy as well. True living is being able to live your life with no regrets, and just being happy and a joy to be around because you only live once so live it up.

Danielle S said...

The values that are most important to me are the things that make me happy. I sometimes disvalue things, but the most important thing is that I am actually alive and have two feet, two eyes, and two hands. I value the people around me that make me happy, like my friends and boyfriend. I value my job and I am very glad I am able to hold a job at this point in our economic crisis. I value my car, getting me from point A to point B whenever, is something that I value very much. I also value my education, something that without it I wouldn’t be able to continue my life because I wouldn’t know anything. I think true happiness is when your doing something you love and not worrying about how much money your making or complete happiness is when you enjoy every moment of what you are doing even if it is sad, makes you angry… I think money and happiness have a semi correlation. I know people say “Money can’t buy happiness,” and I definitely agree with that but I think that money is a need for happiness. Living in suburbia Littleton, Colorado; one of the most sheltered areas of Colorado, not many kids knows what it feels like to be completely poor. Like getting handed a brand new jeep, and getting all their wants taken care of, money has bought them freedom, and things that they feel like doing. Meanwhile, I have never gotten handed a dollar from my parents and had to work every last bone in my body to buy myself a car. And in the process of it, and now that I don’t have any more money at all, I feel more stressed then ever and I feel like if I had an extra few bucks in my pocket I would be happier. I also think though that success and happiness have a correlation, because if you are very successful and happen to make a lot of money from that, then heck, why not be happy? Accomplishing your dream, and being happy as the outcome definitely has a correlation. Ten years from now will consider myself happy if… I am either working or still in school, have either a house or an apartment, have a boyfriend and or seeing someone making me happy, and have a few extra bucks to have fun. And true living is doing what you want, whenever you want, however you want, and not worrying about anything.

I also semi- agree with Elycia because i agree that rich people can be sad and poor people can be happy but i think money can also make people a little less worries which will end up making people more happier then if they were broke. I am not saying though, money buys happiness, I am just saying that having a few extra dollars to go out to eat might be nice once in a while.

brynns said...

The most important things in my life are my mom, sister and my dogs. I believe that true happiness can be obtained by doing what you love. For some its sports others it just being with people that make you smile. I try to surround myself with people that don't need money or material things to make them happy. For myself being happy comes by just being around people that are happy, I feed off their happiness. I also love to play ice hockey and longboard. Sure buying nice things give you happiness, but how long does that last?

I agree with Danielle on what she said about Elycia's comment. Money can give you less worry in your life. It can help you sleep at night when other times you would be worrying about paying bills. Money in my opinion is a love hate relationship. No one can live wihtout food, and what buys you that food? Money.

Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if, I'm happy with where I have led my life. I will also be happy if I am in a solid relationship. If I'm not, then I think that I would still be happy. I am not one of those girls that needs to feel validated by a boy. And true living is, when you do things that make yourself happy. Whether it be hanging with friends or family.

Dani H said...

The most important values in my life are the decisions I make. Each reaction I have will have a reaction in another person's life. If I value those decisions, I could impact another life in a good way not a destructive way. I also agree with Katie that the value of judgment is extremely important because someone may be way different then you think. I need love to be happy, not even in a sexual way, though love from friends and family. Though like Katie said, a specific someone will result in ultimate happiness who understands you and respects you. Success is not defined by how much money you make but by your accomplishments. If I had 100 goals come true but lived on the street, I am a success. Though I disagree with Katie that you need actual physical thing to be happy like a person, but just the happiness of yourself. In 10 years I will consider myself happy if I am able to look back on my life and not regret or wish I had done more. I will be happy as long as I live my life to the fullest and like Matt said a ski bum would create full happiness. True living is living. I mean every minute is spent how I want to live it, and live. I want to create my own shadow not live in someone else’s. As Alicia said I want to be experience everything there possibly is.

Tiffanyvvv said...
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Tiffanyvvv said...

The most important values in my life would be the values my family has taught me. It doesn't hurt to try. Don't let the little things get to you. Knowledge is a virtue. Make the best of everything. I disagree with Katie and Matt because happiness is attainable, but happiness is different in other people’s eyes. Whether it having a successful business, money, or love, happiness can come out of all of those. I don't agree that money is happiness but some others do because i can't judge what is happiness is in eyes that aren't mine.

Ten years from now i will consider myself happy if i have loved ones close around, i have became a better person using past experiences and not regretting anything. True living is living in the moment with common sense, making the best of each moment, and do what makes you happy.

Dylan L said...
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Bri R said...

The values that are most important to me are respect, love, and kindness. I believe that every person deserves a certain level of respect which they can either build on, or knock down according to their actions and your opinion. Love is always important because it can change the world person by person. Kindness is a missing aspect of our world, when I look at how we treat each other, gosh, it's just horrible. I believe that true happiness differs from person to person, and it is attainable. I think a person needs love to be happy, the feeling of loving and being loved is like none other (Doesn't have to be dating relationship kind of love, family, friends, etc.). The feeling of not being alone. I do think there is a correlation between success, money, and happiness in some people's version of happy, and there is a small connection in my own happiness. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have my family and friends in my life. True living is looking at life's stuggles and overcoming what you can in order to achieve the best outcome.

Dylan L said...

The values that are most important to me in life are all priceless; no amount of money or materialistic garbage can take their place. Nothing is more important than the relationships I have with my family and friends, without them I would be lost. They have a huge influence on my everyday life and many of the values I uphold. My ability to think for myself and be an individual is also extremely important to me. People are too often pressured to be someone their not by family, peers, or in hope impress somebody else. Ones dignity and pride should be strong and upheld solely for the happiness of the individual. True happiness should not come with money, gifts or prizes. Happiness is an extremely vague word; everyone has different perceptions of happiness. True happiness comes when a person is excited to wake up every morning excited to pursue a passion they have a truly love; that passion can come in any form, lifestyles, relationships, careers or all three. All I need to be happy is family, friends, faith, music, sports, and my health. All of these are part of my everyday life and I am extremely passionate about all of them. Money does not define happiness or success. But happiness defines success. Money should not be the definition of success. Many people have high paying careers but hate their job because they never have time to do the things they truly love. Why go through life trying endlessly to have a lot of money, by the time one achieves their goal and has time to actually enjoy their money, they have spent their whole life trying to gain something that is totally useless when their gone. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I am healthy, alive, not homeless, and I have good relationships with my family and friends. True living is doing what you love with the people you love.

Unknown said...

The values that are the most important to me are the relationships I have with my friends. I value that because I think that these days it is really hard to find a true friend and someone you can really trust. You will be surrounded by friends for the rest of your life so I believe that it is extremely important that you surround yourself with good people. I think true happiness is when you do not need materialistic things to make you happy. Alot of people believe that money and materialistic things are ways to acheive happiness but I disagree because those things can only go so far. People involved in your life can bring true happiness and having a job that you love can also bring true happiness. I think that if you are successful you can be very happy but you have to be successful doing something you love. If you do not love your job but make alot of money that is not true happiness. Because anyone can do things they do not love and become successful. People without money can be just as happy as people with money. So I do not think there is a correlation between happiness and money. There are people out there who struggle everyday because of financial issues who are perfectly happy. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have a job that I love, I find someone that I love and have true friends. I hope to have a reason for waking up every morning. True living is going after your dreams and what you love the most.

I completely agree with Dylan because we both value our relationships with our friends and family. We do not think that materialistic things measure happiness because those are just things that are added to life to maybe make things just a little more convenient.

Unknown said...

The values I find most important are trying not to judge others, and loving with all your heart. If you do these things, then maybe you can find true happiness. I’m not really sure what true happiness is, but I feel that if you are okay with yourself, your surroundings, and your relationships, you are on your way to feel happy. Also, happiness might be when you feel loved and you have love for others so you feel as if you belong in the world. But true happiness might also be brief moments when your heart feels as if it’s going to explode (from happiness) because everything is going the way you want it to, or you see something majestic or wonderfully beautiful. I agree yet disagree with what Elycia said about money. I see how the richest man can be the loneliest, and the poorest man can have the richest life, but money does affect life. We need money to buy the things essential to life. Also, if we want to travel or go to college, the amount of money we have affects that because if we want to go far, it costs more and usually the better colleges cost more too. But sometimes you can find happiness even if you don’t have that much money because you have love. Success is different for everyone. It could be something small like getting an A on a paper or, it could be something huge like becoming the top dog at your job. Whatever you want most, success comes after fighting for that something.
Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have travelled some of the world, have fallen in love at least once, have a job that challenges me but that I still enjoy, and have wonderful friends and family that I love to spend time with. Now I know that this might not be probable, but even if I have some of those I will be happy. Mostly, I will be happy that I am alive, and that I still have time to live every day to the fullest. True living is when you follow your heart’s desire, and you let yourself have fun.

Abby S said...

My most important value in my life would be the people i fill my life with. I surround myself with people that inspire me to be a better person; to live how I believe I should live. Finding the perfect matches to your personality can be a difficult and trying thing. I have been so fortunate to have found multiple. Friends, family, and classmates that I relate to, put a strong sense of happiness into my life. By absorbing their love and enthusiasm, is what makes me truly happy. I agree with Dani in saying that we need love to be happy. Love for ourselves, but mainly love for others. If you have no one in your life of importance to you, then what life is worth living? True happiness does not come from sucess, large house, or millions of dollars, it comes from sharing your happiness with the ones you value most. Ten years from now i well consider myself happy if I have a family and friends to share my life with. Bringin home the bacon and watching the family enjoy it, will be the best sucess of all. Money is not emotion, it can not fill the creases of a broken heart, mend the wound of a lost friend, all money is for is to weigh your pocket and seperate the rich from the other "ordinary" people. True living is defining yourself to a sense of knowing every decision you make, right or wrong, will always open a new oppotunity. True living is always being aware that the ground is lower then our feet, and that when we hit rock bottom, there is always something to help us stand back up again.

addies2010 said...

The values that are most important to me is knowing who I am and where I come from. Being able to distinguish yourself from the societal norm is a big factor to me. I think that to be truly happy, different people need different things. Not everyone believes that money is happiness, but some people do. And that works for them. I think that it really depends on how you view success to be able to say that the more successful you are the happier you will be. For some people success is graduating high school and going to college, for others success is just being able to wake up every morning and not be on the streets, or to wake up and be healthy. I think that success is defined as being self accomplishment. Others can't tell you what success is, you have to be able to find that out for yourself. I agree with Dylan when he says that happiness is an extremely vague word. Not everyone has the same views on it, and one form of happiness for someone is not the same for all.

Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have accomplished my goals, and if I feel that I am living my life to the fullest. If I have a loving family and can't wait to wake up and go to work. True living is taking advantage of your life in the now. Don't sit around and just wait for things to happen, go out and experience as much as you can because you never know when it all could end.

Morgan H said...

The values that are most important to me in my life are family, friends, cheerleading, and most important being true to myself and not changing who I am. Without doing that, I don't think you can truly live life. I believe that true happiness is when you can be happy with the little things and life. That not one big thing makes life worth living, and being happy, but its all the little things. The things that I need to make me happy, are my family, friends, and cheerleading. Without those things I don't know how I would get through the day. I believe that there is a correlation between the three, success, money and happiness. In our world if you don't have one of those things, than the others don't work. Its hard for people to look within themselves and figure out which makes those three things happen. I think that the definition of success is doing what you love, and doing it to your best ability, and not caring what anyone else thinks about it.

Ten years from now i will consider myself happy if I am coaching cheerleading, because that is what I love to do. I will be married and with a child. Have a job and be very strong in that field.

True living, is not taking any minute for granted. You never know when your life will be done, so live each day to the fullest with no regrets. Don't be scared to go for your dreams. Don't live in the shadow of someone else life. If you do these things you will truly be living.

Morgan H said...

The values that are most important to me in my life are family, friends, cheerleading, and most important being true to myself and not changing who I am. Without doing that, I don't think you can truly live life. I believe that true happiness is when you can be happy with the little things and life. That not one big thing makes life worth living, and being happy, but its all the little things. The things that I need to make me happy, are my family, friends, and cheerleading. Without those things I don't know how I would get through the day. I believe that there is a correlation between the three, success, money and happiness. In our world if you don't have one of those things, than the others don't work. Its hard for people to look within themselves and figure out which makes those three things happen. I think that the definition of success is doing what you love, and doing it to your best ability, and not caring what anyone else thinks about it.

Ten years from now i will consider myself happy if I am coaching cheerleading, because that is what I love to do. I will be married and with a child. Have a job and be very strong in that field.

True living, is not taking any minute for granted. You never know when your life will be done, so live each day to the fullest with no regrets. Don't be scared to go for your dreams. Don't live in the shadow of someone else life. If you do these things you will truly be living.

Anonymous said...

My one important value is a bit of a chiche, but it works, stay true to my self. Change is something that's constantly going on, some good and some bad. People always change but their values and morals shouldn't. Change is good once in awhile for people because it gives them the chance to explore ideas and other ways of life. Happiness is whatever you make it, when ever I see my dogs waiting for me when I get home everyday, it makes me truly happy and I have the biggest smile on my face. Making someone laugh gives me a sense of being. I need the little things in life to be happy because they are the ones I enjoy the most. I would say money and happiness are connected somewhat but only to the extent of providing for your family, not being debt, and traveling to see the world. Success is ultimately accomplishing what you set out to do in life. I know we all say that success isn't all about money and we can strive to get the job we want, but when does that happen? I'd like to see it more often, maybe we are just numb to those who do achieve it. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have experienced life for all it's worth. True living is finding yourself.


I agree with Bri about respect. It seems as if there is no respect left to be taught to our generation. No one uses "Mr." or "Mrs./Ms." anymore. We don't see people as our peers, especially teachers, we seem them as our buddies. Sometimes this is good, but it makes students think that they don't have to work as hard. I'm just at loss when I see a student talk back to a teacher when they were at fault. Or even at home, when a teenager is grounded and then they proceed to call their parents profanities when they are to blame. There truly is some wisdom behind older is wiser.

JaimeM said...

I think true happiness can only be found within yourself and the outlook that you have on life. Many people base there moods on what other people are doing/saying to them. In my life, I choose to look within myself for happiness because i just cant afford to rely on other people for it. What i need to keep this going is strength becuase trust me it gets so hard not to fall in the trap of letting other people and events dictate wheather im happy or not. Happiness is a temporary thing in general, like Matt M. said. You can be the happiest person alive one day, and then the next its gone. The thing that i really desire in my life above happiness is contentment. Dont get me wrong, I absolutley think true happiness exists, but for me anyway its an emotion that is frequent but not constantly there 24/7. Thats why I also agree with Katie also.

Ten years from now i will consider myself happy if im still as emotionally strong and optimistic as i am now. Those are two things that give me more happiness than anything else. Knowing that I truly have the control to take a bad situation and see the good in it gives me a lot of peace of mind. More than anything though, I hope that ten years from now i will be content. This will mean that I dont let negative things influence my mood, and that i will still walk out of my house everyday thinking that today is going to be a beautiful day.

Meg P said...

In life, we sometimes just need to stop and think about what we really want in the long run and what really matters. Do all of the shoes, purses, clothes, and electronics really matter? We see things everyday that we want. We work so that we can get things that we think will make us happy. But, in a few months, we just want the latest and greatest items released. I am guilty of this myself. But sometimes I do take the time to stop and think. What would really make me happy? I don't need materials to be happy. What makes me most happy is friends, family, and success. I love to have a good time. Making memories that will last forever makes me happy. Listening to music, watching movies, and reading books that make me look at life in a different way make me happy. Doing good things for others makes me happy. Seeing hard work paying off makes me happy. Honestly, I do think there is a correlation between success, money, and happiness. Without money, we may not succeed to the fullest. We cannot go to fancy, expensive private schools to get top notch education. Plus, for me, success brings happiness. So in order to succeed, you need the money. For example, in swimming there is technology for the swim suits. Some suits are much faster than others. But of coarse, there is a price to pay. So, if I want to succeed to the fullest, aren't I at a disadvantage with a slower, cheaper suit? I have already noticed a huge difference this year in the time drops from swimmers with expensive suits, and swimmers without. It seems like it is now a competition of the "haves" and "have nots". I wish this is not how it had to be, but it is too late to change now. True living is living life your way, whether that be traveling the world, working from dawn till dusk in an office, helping others, or whatever makes you happy. It is important to be thankful and take a minute to stop and think about what really makes you happy. It is important to live without regrest, live in the present, look for the good in others and realize that everyone has some bad in them, have passion for what you do, show the people you love that you love them, and love yourself. Life is short, live it to the fullest, because you only have one shot.

Allie S said...

Keeping good relationships between my family, friends, and people i come in contact with on a daily basis is what drives how i live. I believe that true happiness is being proud of what you have done in your life and having come across love in different fashions. The necesity of friends and family comes with the need for love to be happy. Also you must possess character to be proud of your accomplishments. Whether these accomplishements are as small as a grade in school, or helping someone in need, to as big as raising a functional family. To be happy a sense of self-worth must be present. I believe there is a correlation between success, money, and happiness. Success, money, and happiness, however, mean something different to each individual. Some define success as equating to money. Some define success as equating to happiness. The sad instance is when people define success as equating to money. Even so, in some cases money does help people feel happy. I agree with Elycia in some sense when she explains that money is not happiness. However, i still believe money helps some people who do not have a happy family, or group of friends to feel happy and fulfilled in a miniscule way. Ten years from now i will consider myself happy if I am surrounded by people who love me, and i have accomplished something i am proud of. Whether it is my college degree or raising a family. True living is anything an individual believes it to be. I believe it is living with emotions and not sliding through life. But true living is just that. Living, in any way that suits you.

Erik said...

The most important values in my life are the ones that are dictated in the Bible. That is the code that I try to follow everyday. I believe that the values that there are in the Bible are the best ones and that they make the world a better place.
True happiness can be achieved but it is really hard in a world of sin and suffering. You have to be able be contempt with what you have and to be able to withstand what this world is going to make you go through.
To be happy the only thing that I need is my family, my friends and God. everything else can just help to make your life easier. I could say that I listen more to my Ipod than sleep, but i can surely live without it.
Sometimes there can be a correlation between money and success. Happiness doesn't have anything to do with success. You can be happy but that doesn't mean that you are successful in the eyes of other people but you just have to be contempt. The world that we live in relates success with how much money you make. That sometimes doesn't have to be so, because there are people that are successful and that don't make huge fortunes.
Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if a have a family, friends, a job that can cover all my expenses and we can live properly. If I could keep on playing table tennis and soccer. I think that true living is really living for others. You feel satisfied and you also live for yourself.

Kris F. said...

The values that are most important to me are to find people who complete me and that I can completely be myself around and providing assistance to others. In my old school we lived with each other and every single person there was like my brother. We looked out for each other and could trust each other enough to tell anything. In that school we also took pride in helping others. I ended up with over 100 hours of community service in which I got to help people who had little to nothing. There were food clinics in which I helped pack food for the homeless who couldn't afford it on their own. I guess true happiness is what I felt at that moment. The thought of helping other people who were less fortunate than me touched me deeper than anything else. A few hours work could feed hundreds of families. All I need to be happy is to find someone that can make me laugh and smile. Happiness is easily reached and can be found in anything in life. There is no correlation between happiness, success, and money. I have seen homeless people smile when I talked to them and they actually laughed and were....human. They have neither money nor success and I could see the happiness in there eyes. The littlest things in life can be used for joy. Even just talking to a friendly stranger or smiling at someone can bring happiness to life. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have gone sky diving or something that brings that adrenaline into life. True living is living without regrets and finding joy in the smallest things in life.
I agree with Elycia because money isn't everything in life and it does not describe happiness.

sschacher said...

The values that are most important in my life are my family first and foremost and then my friends. I feel that no one in this world can truly be happy with either one of these things missing. Money is an important factor now even if we try to say its not. Just because we do need money to survive and live a happy life we also need the people around us to complete that satisfaction. Money is not everything but it certainly does make life a lot easier. Deep down when I think about money or friends and family I would definitely choose friends and family and then work for the money to be successful. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if, I have made a difference in someone else’s life, played college ball, go to a different continent, have a great teaching job, still have all my friends I do now, and finally find a man who loves me and a family started. True living is living each day, each hour, each minute, like it’s your last. Never throw away something you may regret. True living is something every person should strive for.

Unknown said...

Values are unnecessary as long as one is in company, after all no one will act poorly if they fear being punished or if they are in front of someone they want to impress. I guess I believe that it is wrong to steal, lie, or kill, but I try to avoid doing those things to escape punishment for them and they don't come up on a daily basis. True happiness is innocents, after all the happiest man is the village fool. There is always the balance, wants versus punishment. I want a car, but to steal one I could go to jail, so I need to work to get one and avoid the punishment if I want the reward. Happiness is a myth, in today's world there are just actors and robots, the robots work towards some far out goal always thinking that if they can just find it everything will be better. Actors pretend that they have reached happiness; they waste there time faking it, sometimes they almost believe the lie themselves.
Ten years from now I will be happy if I can ignore the robots and the actors and carve out my own path. But mostly O would be happy if I didn't have to look into the eyes of my 17 year old self and tell him that I stayed behind, that I didn’t reach for the light, or worse lie to him and say "I am not a failure."


PS DON'T SEND ME TO THE SHRINK, YES THIS WAS DARK BUT IT IS ONLY MY PERSPECTIVE THROUGH THESE LENSES AND WILL FADE WITH TOMORROW'S DREAM!

TylerF said...
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TylerF said...

Keeping up my relationships is the most important value in my life.. I try to do everything I can make the people in my life happy happy, but of course sometimes my selfish desires get in my way. But when it all comes down to it, I would die for any of these people without a second thought. Honestly, I am not sure if I have ever felt true happiness. I believe I have, but it may be something none of us ever know until our time is up. Happiness requires you to give up part of yourself, and make yourself vulnerable to every emotion then once you have felt the highs and low of each you are ready to define one as happiness. The only essential piece in happiness is love. You must be able to love yourself for who you are and others for who they are. We are all individuals and until we realize our choices are our own, we will not know true happiness.

Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if…no ifs, only prayers and that’s the best I can do. Things change, and hopefully I will have rolled with them, and kept on trucking.
True living is finding you passions and pursuing them no matter what adversities you face.

Vivian said...

Values that are most important in my life right now are my friends and family. I do value money; however I think that in the future that value will grow even more. True happiness is completely different for different people. For me true happiness is having loving friends, but in others life, true happiness could mean being completely rich, or having as many cats as possible. I very strongly believe there is a correlation between success, money and happiness. In order to have money usually you have success, and with that comes happiness, however you do not necessarily need money to be happy, it just makes it easier. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I am providing well and in a loving relationship. True living is when you get to live your dreams and experience all that you want to experience.

ky k. said...

The values that are important in my life are to love your family because they do so much for you, and to not judge people before you meet them like Katie said. I also agree with Katie when she said that no matter what you have, you can’t really truly be happy forever. For most people the things that will make us truly happy aren’t material things they are things like good relationships with our friends, family, love and things like that. Material things and money won’t truly make us happy. No matter what you buy, it won’t keep you happy forever. It’s everyone’s natural instinct to want more and more, so even if we get something that we’ve wanted forever we’re always going to want something after that. Like I said before there’s nothing that can truly satisfy us, but with good relationships with your friends and family you can be happy. The correlation between success, money, and happiness is that usually if you’re successful you will be happy because you have reached your dreams. Also if you are successful you would have worked really hard so somewhere in the mix you will have probably made some good or enough money. Generally, if you are successful then happiness and money will probably have come with it. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I have been successful in reaching my dreams and goals or have reached challenges that I have never thought possible, and true living is being able to work and do what you love without having to worry about the money because too much of the time people just do jobs because of the money instead of doing what makes them happy or what they truly love.

jbarry said...

The values in my life that are most important are what make me the person that I am. I am srtongly opposed to the abuse of substances, I believe in having fun and living every second in the present. Dale Carnegie once said that there are 5 things that make people happy: A way to make money that makes us feel important, things to buy with that money, a family, friends around us, and sexual gratification. I try to balance the things that I do around these 5 things, and i try not to indulge too much in any one. See, all of them combine to form the perfect happy person, but if we have say too much money and not enough family then our outlook is skewed by that much. If we have too much family and not enough community we may begin to lose contact with the outside world and our family may come to be a burden on us. I think that Carnegie was ingenius in making this observation and I agree with him 100%. I will consider my life a success if I have a wife and a family that love me, a job that pleases me, the ability to provide financially for my family, and friends that I can share experiences with.

ashleighm said...

The values that are the most important in my life are my own standards, my family and friends, and what I do with my life along the way. I believe that true happiness is only attained by people individually. My definition of happiness may be very different from someone else. Watching other people live in happiness brings me the most happiness. All I need to be happy is my family and friends. There may be a correlation with money and happiness for some people, but not for me. Ten years from now I will consider myself happy if I achieve my dreams, live my life to its best and know that I made an impression in someone’s life around me. True living, to me, is living my your own beliefs and standards and making the most of your life so that it is beneficial not only to you but to those around you.

Chase K. said...

In life, the values that I deam most important are my family, friends, religion, and hockey. I believe that true happiness comes from feeling good about yourself, who you are with, and what you are doing. To be happy, you simply need friends and family. I do believe that money and happiness have a small corralation. I mean you cannot be too happy if you are broke and living on the street. But having an excess amount of money does not make you happier. Success definetly makes you happy though, and usually success does yield mobey. But success to me means that you have excelled in your field or in something that you want to accomplish. I ten years form now, I will consider myself happy if I have graduated college and am living a "successful" life. True living is being happy with what you have and who is in your life, and thriving off of that.