Final Report, 1st Installment - An Ascent to Happiness

Final Report 1^st Installment

An Ascent to Happiness

For my Mid-term report I read Bright Sided by Barbra Ehrenreich, which discussed the culture of superficial happiness in America. Let me start off by explaining, I was one of her caricatures – positive thinking, self-help books, motivational speeches, and think it to believe it attitudes – filled with a heap of blind jubilance. I had a message of persevering with happiness overcomes a lot of things, it was somewhat naive.

            After graduating High School and experiencing freshmen year of college I grew out of that inclination, nevertheless, I ventured between all the different walks of life at MTSU. In search of a few friends that were relatable and accepting, I decided to join a Fraternity. At first this seemed like a great idea, instant friends, a genuine interest in my character, and a plethora of good vibes. Sadly, this all came to an end after the first two weeks.

            As I progressed further into the initiation process the genuine interest and compadre-ship slowly depreciated. Members wanted me to do the dumbest of things for their own giggles or ego, like washing their car or driving them around town just to drive. A complete waste of my time and energy. I left this abusive environment after four weeks. Personally, there was no intrinsic value within their definition of “building a relationship.” Perhaps some might say I deserved it due to my naiveté, but I fully believe this was more than a learning experience. It was the beginning of finding my passion.

            Upon dropping the fraternity I continued my passion in Student Government, cranking out the most legislation of any legislator and building relationships. I became the “smart” guy who everyone went to for advice on where to begin for legislation. Improving my surroundings through public service grew on me. I was like a kid in a candy shop when it came to politics and embracing a community. I adopted the famous saying, “it’s not about the words on the paper as much as it is about the people behind the words.” This truly drew my feelings away from my mistake of joining the fraternity.

            I explain all this to inform you of my ascension to happiness. Building relationships, embracing others, and giving people a voice through public service is what drives me. In my four years at MTSU I have experienced turmoil in my own self-improvement – feeling lonely, losing sight of my goals, treating education as a commodity. I am happy to tell you this to persuade you that happiness is not a clear cut deposition. Instead, it’s a convention of getting lost to find yourself.

            I guess to best describe happiness we have to refer back to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and highlight that the journey after being unshackled from others’ opinions and expectations, is a winding tunnel and physically demanding rock wall. Sometimes you have to go deeper into the earth in order to make it to the surface.

            In short, don’t let someone tell you, “you’re not valued” or “you don’t belong here,” because deep down I could only imagine how broken they might be in order to express those remarks. And so they try to break others. Misery loves company, but by all means, that doesn’t mean you can’t become a happy overman.