My Definition Of Happiness

 I believe happiness lives within us. Life is not always happy. There will always be some points in our life that we will experience hopelessness and depression. From my life perspective, happiness is not something we can plan in order to make it happen. When we just learn to be open-minded and enjoy our valuable moments with our love ones, it is a happiness.

My family is very important to me because they always stay by my side when I’m feeling left out. They make me laugh when I’m depressed, and they give me hope when I lose my self-esteem. They taught me to become who I am today. They are my motivators. My family is the definition of my happiness.

          
I had experience with depression during my first month at middle school in America. English wasn’t my first language, so I had a very difficult time learning or communicating with others. When I was little, I used to be happy and very cheerful. Once I moved to America, my attitude started to change because I don’t have any friend and I felt so pressure learning new language.  I became so shy, quiet, and afraid, and sometimes I felt like an outsider.

          
These nervous feelings intensified when I started P.E. I remembered when I was in P.E. class in middle school, I got bullied by my classmates. For example, they laughed and made fun of me when I did not have my P.E. clothes because I was the only one who didn’t have it. On my first two weeks there, some students were mocking me when I did not know how to play baseball. I looked confused because I did not understand my teacher’s instructions. Their loud mocking laughs made me felt so embarrassed.  Then, I started to hate school, especially my P.E. class, but I still had to go anyway. I did not tell my family about what had happened at school because I don’t want them to worry about me. My siblings started to notice my unusual frown. They did not directly ask me why I was being so quiet and sad lately; instead, they began to tell me some random jokes and even took me out for a walk. I decided to tell them what really happened and how I felt about my school. They knew my situation so well. They comforted me with their encouraging words and told me silly jokes. My sibling’s teasing made me laugh and I was be able to forget about the bullies. A few months later, I made a new friend and she was also a newcomer, but she was from a different country. With a new friend and my family by my side, I became happy and had confidence to go to school again. My English started to improve every day because of my hard work. I had learned so much throughout my experience, and I began to ignore those people who were making fun of me. Once I saw the positive side of my life, I felt so grateful and happy to have the opportunity to make the best of my time in my new country.

From all these experiences, I learned to be confident, think positively, and stay strong. Also, I started to love my life and appreciate what I had.  Christian D. Larson once said, “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” Everything he said is absolutely true and I realized this when I started being the best I could be. When I believe in myself, I have strength to fight any obstacles in life. Finally, I really appreciated my siblings for what they have done for me. They rescued me when I was drowning into the darkness. Now, I believe happiness is the love and hope that makes us become stronger, and it is not something that happens instantly. The love and support of my family helped me to see how strong I was, and finally I was able to find the happiness that live within me.