When people ask me “What is your dream?,” I have answered them, “To live happily.” Happiness has always been my ultimate life goal. After reading the book, Secret, which is based on the law of attraction claiming that positive thinking creates life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness, I have tried to think positive and live optimistically. I enjoy making people laugh and their laugh makes me happy.
Sometimes, we need an excuse to talk to people. This project was a good excuse to talk to people. I started asking around “What is happiness? What makes you happy?”, then I could keep the conversation going and learn about their personal perspectives. As I have asked around the questions, people first started to give simple answers like sushi, chocolate, or girlfriend. However, as I posted the question in public, people started to take the question seriously—religion, personal life goals, relationship, etc. Some of them even told me that they could not give me the answer since they have not found real happiness yet. It was interesting to see how people overlook the findings of small happiness that have melted into our everyday life. People tend to chase after what is beyond the simple happiness, something intangible and abstract that can never be reached or completely satisfied. They always strive for the endpoint, but they should focus more on its process.
Through the research, I learned a lot about the science of happiness, fun and interesting facts about how our brain and body work when we feel happy. It was a good opportunity for me to study deeply about the subject matter and develop the applications to share it with others. Based on the scientific research, I came up with 10 different statements about the science of happiness, each explaining an essential aspect of happiness—food, smile, religion, love, friends, work, dopamine, oxytocin, endorphin, and serotonin. I designed the activities that go with each statement and made an event with all the items I produced. The goal was to show people how to find small happiness through simple activities, temporarily making them happy, and to help them understand that happiness is not far away.
Happiness is everywhere.
Well begun is half done. Once I started talking to unfamiliar people, I could even talk to strangers on the street, giving out the Behappy stickers. Through this process, I have received much positive feedback and realized saying a few genuine words as “Have a nice day!” or even just saying “Hi!” to people can make them happy.
The event was held in the RISD mailroom, one of the most crowded places on campus, where everyone is happy getting their packages. Through the event, I realized how much I have overlooked and how a simple object, like a small piece of bubble wrap, can be fun and stress relieving, making people happy. I hope my project can continue and keep making people aware of the simple happiness in everyday life.
