Capable of Happiness Column

By Gillian Pietrowski
Staff Writer

It is the feeling you get when you are reunited with a friend who you haven’t seen in months. When you hug a puppy. When you ace a test you were convinced you were going to fail. This is all happiness.

To me it is much more than just a feeling; it is a way of life. We can probably all say that living a truly happy life is something we wish to achieve. Yet, we allow so many negative thoughts to surround us daily that restrict us from achieving the happy lifestyle we want.

The Pioneer is introducing this column to let people know that there are ways to go about life without allowing negative or upsetting thoughts to ruin a beautiful day. Just like everything you wish to achieve in life it takes hard work and constant practice to be happy. You’ll have to fight the bad thoughts that consume you and allow yourself to view things in a more positive light.

I have recently taught myself to do this by stepping back when I am overwhelmed and look at the bigger picture. Little or big things will make it’s way into your life and create chaos but practicing in mental health activities can help tremendously. If you are facing serious issues it is also great to see help from professionals. Seeing therapist can help you more than you may believe. Such as yoga, meditation, painting, and reading self-help books. It is never too late. Once you realize this you can begin to open up a whole life of possibilities.

Young adults can get so wrapped up in what others day and do, but opinions mean nothing. You have to learn to accept yourself for who you are and know the only version of yourself that you should be happy with is when you are doing the best you possibly can. Friends and family sometimes tend to give us advise, whether we want it or not, but we have to teach ourselves that they often tend to think they know what is best for us when in reality only we do.

Take things with a grain of salt, laugh off the embarrassing moments and laugh with the people you love. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Learning how to live a different lifestyle can be tricky and there will absolutely be days when you fall down and allow the bad to take over, but the next day pick yourself back up and continue believing that life doesn’t always have to be unhappy. We are all capable of happiness.