Happiness?
"You used to be this really cheerful girl, happy all the time, excited and fascinated by all the little things that you see, that come into life. And now you're so sad sometimes. Why?"
This was what my good friend from back in high school in Singapore told me when I visited her in Princeton (I just came back to Penn). Why was I sad nowadays? What made me happy then, and what has changed?
I don't know, honestly. Disappointment? The emptiness and ache somewhere in the chest from having a warm feeling slip away, yet again? An idealist and a dreamer, not to mention die-hard romantic, I'd always thought happiness consisted of sharing the beauty of the world, the joys of life, with loved ones - family, close friends, and of course, that special someone. Again and again I'd prayed to find contentment and love. Again and again, I'd found it - only to lose it again.
What is happiness but a fleeting fullness of the heart and a momentary brightness of the mind? Just like how hope is a double-edged sword; it drives us forward with eager steps, and slices us with the blade of disappointment at the same time.
Or is happiness something more? I don't know. I'm still searching, as always.
This was what my good friend from back in high school in Singapore told me when I visited her in Princeton (I just came back to Penn). Why was I sad nowadays? What made me happy then, and what has changed?
I don't know, honestly. Disappointment? The emptiness and ache somewhere in the chest from having a warm feeling slip away, yet again? An idealist and a dreamer, not to mention die-hard romantic, I'd always thought happiness consisted of sharing the beauty of the world, the joys of life, with loved ones - family, close friends, and of course, that special someone. Again and again I'd prayed to find contentment and love. Again and again, I'd found it - only to lose it again.
What is happiness but a fleeting fullness of the heart and a momentary brightness of the mind? Just like how hope is a double-edged sword; it drives us forward with eager steps, and slices us with the blade of disappointment at the same time.
Or is happiness something more? I don't know. I'm still searching, as always.