Why I Am Happy

~While talking to my grandfather over the phone today (Happy 78, grandpa!), he asked me that generic question that all humans, or at least all Americans, ask each other in virtually every conversation: "How are you?" I answered that I was very happy. Only later did I take the time to consider my response. Am I, in general, currently happy, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims I have the inalienable right to pursue? The answer is yes: I'm fortunate to be at a stage in my life where I am quite happy.

I'm a graduate student, currently between classes, working an easy part-time job and an internship that I love. I don't have much money, but between my job and savings from previous jobs I have enough to get by. Besides, I firmly believe that the best things in life really are free. I live in a comfortable apartment in a beautiful area near a lake and a bus stop, and I have a car and a bicycle if I want to go anywhere else. I enjoy simple but delicious food and have plenty to eat and drink. I can play music and have more games (from my good, generous friend Inter Net O'Nonymous) and books (I am a library student) than I could enjoy in a lifetime. And of course, I'm in good health. And you know what they say about health:



I am blessed with wonderful parents whom I get to see frequently. Its the former, I think, that I am truly fortunate in; I have friends who can't stand their family and would prefer to see them as little as possible. I don't get to see the rest of my family as much as I'd like to, but as they say, Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (or, in some cases, Go Yonder). Speaking of which, I've also had the good fortune to travel around the world more than most Americans; while I would certainly like to travel to other places, I have great memories of time spent in England, Japan, and the Czech Republic.

I have good friends that live in the area and that I can hang out with occasionally (being mostly introverted, I prefer my own company most of the time). A few years ago, all of them (or at least, it feels like all of them) started to get married, but the truth is that I'm happy for them.

While I know my current situation won't last forever, I hope that it won't change all that much. Seriously, what more do I really need? Not much. A girlfriend? Hmm...I'll burn that bridge when I cross it, or something like that. More money? Maybe...but what would I buy? There's just not much in the way of possessions that I want. A house? A boat? An island fortress?

"Happiness"...that ever-elusive goal that all human strive for. However things might change in the future (and change they will: I'm not really looking forward to the stress of writing a Masters Paper this fall), for now, I'm enjoying life immensely.