Prompt: Tell us about a concept, theory, or topic you have explored simply because it sparked your intellectual curiosity. Why do you find it intriguing? How do you want to explore it further?
The feeling of happiness is what I've been waiting for so long. Going to school as early as 6 in the morning to coming home at 7 in the evening, finishing homework past midnight and getting less than 5 hours of sleep just to repeat that same process 5 days a week for the rest of the school year. On the weekends, I help my parents with any possible chores around the house to help out the family. My dad, who works long hours at 2 jobs to support the four of us in this household, takes care of his children and supports us with any way he possibly can. My mom, who works at a part-time job, has the energy to wake up as early as I do to provide breakfast for her children, go to work while my brother and I are at school.
This whole life routine goes on for such a long time, it's been a while since we, as a family, got to spend just one day relaxing. As days just pass by, time also flies, and my happiness degrades over my years in high school. I came to that realization at some point during my junior year.
As I was browsing through the internet, I came across this TedTalk by Dan Gilbert who speaks his way of the science of happiness. It was a long video but it didn't seem to matter since I was really intrigued. It was worth it. While listening to him speak, I didn't realize there was happiness missing in my life. All the schoolwork and helping out my family buried into my daily life, there wasn't a time where I cared for my own needs.
Not soon after, there was a course that was recommended to me called, "The Science of Well-Being." Knowing I didn't have time on my hands, I waited until my junior year ended to give this course a try. Obviously at that moment, I didn't think my happiness would increase in a matter of weeks, but I still gave it a try without hesitation. Within the first few weeks, I loved it. Professor Laurie Santos is the professor at Yale who taught this course and the way she spoke about how our minds work and the scientific measures on increasing happiness made me curious and want to learn more. As she was explaining the misconceptions of happiness, my mind wandered to the moments where I was in situations that I thought were making me happy. Realizing my mistakes, I wanted to do something about it.
In the last few weeks, I had to put some of the strategies the Professor mentioned into practice. A concept I have kept in my mind the whole course was the G.I. Joe Fallacy-the idea that knowing is half the battle. Instead of following and listening to what the Professor has to say about the way we can increase our happiness, I have to take action. I decided to meditate, and create social connections. I would meditate twice a week and I found ways to create social connections with my family. While meditating, I was able to free my mind of all the stress and continue to focus on myself with positive energy. It took me a couple of weeks, but I was patient with my results. It was difficult creating social connections with my family considering they have busy lives, instead I made it up to them to figure out the days to spend time together. We planned to go out every weekend to see the sunset, go to the beach, or even have a picnic. These moments were the best moments I've had in awhile. I kept a journal to write down my thoughts and my emotions to track my progress. Two months have passed by and I felt like my mind was becoming more free. Looking back where I started, my family and I went from dealing with our tedious busy schedules to radiating positive energy just by taking time off to connect with each other.
This made me wonder about others who are in the same situation as I am. I plan on studying Psychology in college to spread this knowledge about the concept of our minds.
(I need assistance on how to shorten this essay because I went over the 500 word limit. I also need help with the conclusion.)
the happiness
The feeling of happiness is what I've been waiting for so long. Going to school as early as 6 in the morning to coming home at 7 in the evening, finishing homework past midnight and getting less than 5 hours of sleep just to repeat that same process 5 days a week for the rest of the school year. On the weekends, I help my parents with any possible chores around the house to help out the family. My dad, who works long hours at 2 jobs to support the four of us in this household, takes care of his children and supports us with any way he possibly can. My mom, who works at a part-time job, has the energy to wake up as early as I do to provide breakfast for her children, go to work while my brother and I are at school.
This whole life routine goes on for such a long time, it's been a while since we, as a family, got to spend just one day relaxing. As days just pass by, time also flies, and my happiness degrades over my years in high school. I came to that realization at some point during my junior year.
As I was browsing through the internet, I came across this TedTalk by Dan Gilbert who speaks his way of the science of happiness. It was a long video but it didn't seem to matter since I was really intrigued. It was worth it. While listening to him speak, I didn't realize there was happiness missing in my life. All the schoolwork and helping out my family buried into my daily life, there wasn't a time where I cared for my own needs.
Not soon after, there was a course that was recommended to me called, "The Science of Well-Being." Knowing I didn't have time on my hands, I waited until my junior year ended to give this course a try. Obviously at that moment, I didn't think my happiness would increase in a matter of weeks, but I still gave it a try without hesitation. Within the first few weeks, I loved it. Professor Laurie Santos is the professor at Yale who taught this course and the way she spoke about how our minds work and the scientific measures on increasing happiness made me curious and want to learn more. As she was explaining the misconceptions of happiness, my mind wandered to the moments where I was in situations that I thought were making me happy. Realizing my mistakes, I wanted to do something about it.
In the last few weeks, I had to put some of the strategies the Professor mentioned into practice. A concept I have kept in my mind the whole course was the G.I. Joe Fallacy-the idea that knowing is half the battle. Instead of following and listening to what the Professor has to say about the way we can increase our happiness, I have to take action. I decided to meditate, and create social connections. I would meditate twice a week and I found ways to create social connections with my family. While meditating, I was able to free my mind of all the stress and continue to focus on myself with positive energy. It took me a couple of weeks, but I was patient with my results. It was difficult creating social connections with my family considering they have busy lives, instead I made it up to them to figure out the days to spend time together. We planned to go out every weekend to see the sunset, go to the beach, or even have a picnic. These moments were the best moments I've had in awhile. I kept a journal to write down my thoughts and my emotions to track my progress. Two months have passed by and I felt like my mind was becoming more free. Looking back where I started, my family and I went from dealing with our tedious busy schedules to radiating positive energy just by taking time off to connect with each other.
This made me wonder about others who are in the same situation as I am. I plan on studying Psychology in college to spread this knowledge about the concept of our minds.
(I need assistance on how to shorten this essay because I went over the 500 word limit. I also need help with the conclusion.)
