Happiness and health are one in the same. Sometimes people can falter in health if they’re not happy. Seasonal affective disorder, or seasonal depression is the best example of that. With the shorter days and the colder weather it’s easy for people to fall into a sudden depression. There is less sun, less color, and it’s cold all the time. If ones sadness is drawn out it’s important to make sure that they do what they can to stay happy. For these seniors, they’ve found their way.

Moses Brown, Senior
Q: Are you Happy?
: Sure
Q:Why?
: High School’s pretty good
Q: What’re things you do to stay happy?
: Come to school, talk to friends, play sports

Seth Krummrich, Senior
Q: Are you Happy?
: Of course
Q: Why?
: That’s a difficult question because there’s a lot of things people… interpret as happy. I interpret it as: Have money? Sure. Do you enjoy your life? Yeah. It’s not bad.
Q: What’re some things that you do to stay happy?
: I play sports so that kinda helps out. I play video games and watch shows that I can relate to.
Q: What’s something that you’d tell someone who is struggling with finding happiness?
: Find your purpose

There are people out there who are naturally cheery, and, on the other hand, there are those who can’t even make it out of bed in the morning because their body is heavy with a dread that they can’t control. Keeping your high spirits is important when the world seems to be weighing on your shoulders.

David Jones, AP World History Teacher
Q: Are you happy?
: Yes
Q: Why?
: Life is too short to be unhappy. You take things that come along and roll with it and look for joy everyday.
Q: What’s something you’d tell someone who is struggling with finding happiness or staying happy?
: Look for just even small moments that you can appreciate. Could be someone said “hi” to you or you got a compliment or you did good on a test or something. Look for small battles… and build on that.

Jacob Holtgraewe, English Teacher 
Q: What’re some things that you do to help you stay happy?
: I like to play sports, I like to just be outside. Go on runs, bike rides, walks. Be around people that make me happy and do similar things.
Q: What’s something you’d tell someone who is struggling with finding happiness or staying happy?
: I’d say continue to work through the time that they’re going through right now… Sometimes things seem like they’re not going to get better but they eventually do and to even find just… the little things throughout the day like try to find one thing that you can look back on the day and say “that was a good thing that happened today” whether it’s small, medium or large. Just appreciate one thing that happened and kinda hold onto that.

People struggle. You might struggle. Finding your muse and working on inner peace even if things seem hopeless is possible. There is hope. But; if you’re not there yet, you’re not alone in your solitude. 

Anonymous, Sophomore Girl
Q: Are you happy?
: No
Q: Why?
: I just don’t feel happy
Q: What’s hard for you right now? Why?
: School. School work. I have a bunch of tests coming up and I don’t know how to do any of it, I don’t understand anything they [teachers] teach.
Q: What’s something you’d tell someone who is struggling with finding happiness or staying happy?
: Try to surround yourself with happy people. Do stuff that you like.

Bonus Tips