What’s wrong with being happy? You’re more likely to hear someone talk about what makes them mad or sad over what makes them happy.

We live in a society that thrives off of the negatives. All the stories in the news are about tragedy and controversy. It is very seldom that you hear a story that makes you feel good.

Everyone loves to point out what’s wrong. We love to complain. We complain about the economy, school, family, etc. When there is a major change in society, everyone’s first response is to point out all of the negatives.

People say, “I don’t like this,” “this will never work” and “this is bad,” before they even give it a chance, which makes it harder for people to find things that they like.

Being positive shouldn’t be hard.

When you talk about happy things too much, people think you’re bragging, but there is a difference between bragging and bringing the positive things to light.

You shouldn’t be ashamed to be happy.

At freshman orientation, there was a guest speaker. He said that whenever people ask him how he’s doing, he says, “living the dream.” That was his response no matter what. At the time, I thought that was incredibly lame, but now I think it makes sense.

When my friends ask me how I’m doing, I always tell that that I am feeling great. I’m happy because I choose to be. Complaining will get me nowhere, but being happy will motivate me to keep going.

People ask me why I’m always so happy, and my response is “why should I let myself be sad?”

I’m not saying that I am never sad. Things happen, and they get you down, but you don’t have to be in a slump forever. There is a time for sadness, but there should be even more time for happiness.

It’s okay to be sad at times, but you can’t be sad all the time especially when good things are happening to you. You have to look at the positives sometimes.

I know I can get extremely sad at times, but there are always good things happening in my life. Always. Even if nothing good is happening at one moment, there are always memories to hold on to. If you don’t have anything happy to ground you, then you’re not living life right.

Growing up in New Orleans, you learn that life is a celebration. Even when we get hit with the toughest obstacles, we make it through with positivity. Funerals aren’t supposed to be sad. They are supposed to be a celebration of life. That is what New Orleans does.

If someone asked you to write down all of the things that make you upset, you could write pages, but if you were asked to write down all the things that make you happy, you could barely write an entire paragraph.

When I was asked to write 500 words on what makes me happy, it felt like a challenge, but it shouldn’t be. Now I challenge everyone to take a moment to think all the things that make them happy.