Be Like Pharrell Williams: Be Happy

By Kelly Kinas ‘17

Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days. Everyone knows what I’m talking about. Everybody gets that way.

Even though I’m quoting Hannah Montana, the point still stands. We all feel a little sad, stupid, or uninteresting at times, which is completely normal. We just need to learn to appreciate what we have and be satisfied with our lives. We literally just need to be happy. Just being happy and optimistic about life puts you in a better mood and actually makes you healthier. My friends at CNN agree with me. 

Elizabeth Landau of CNN wrote a lovely article about “Why Happiness is Healthy” which was published this past March. This is much more than “fake it until you make it”. It is about changing your lifestyle to be excited and happier about the little things in life. In a 2012 review of more than 200 studies, it was shown that being happy can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. As the article states, it’s not as simple as “be happy and you won’t have heart attacks” but it has been speculated that having a positive attitude can help relieve stress which is better for your body and your heart. The link to the article is here.

There has been a much needed positive shift in music lately as well. Most teen pop stars are now stating that you’re not perfect in society’s standards but you’re perfect in your own way and that’s chill. I personally subscribe to the fact that listening to a positive upbeat song can get you in the right mood for the rest of the day. If you rock out to an awesome song, no matter what your taste is, it puts you in a good mood. Music can change moods, minds, and the world. So let’s spread around the happiness.

Still not convinced?

1. If you’re reading this, you probably went to a formalized form of education to make you literate and a critical thinker. You should be super stoked about that because that means you get to read some of the great novels in civilization, some awesome jokes, or a love note from your significant other. You are so lucky, you should be so thankful that you grew up where you could get educated, in some way shape or form, no matter what gender, ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation you are.

2. If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance that you are a student at an accredited university (most likely USC), are on your way to University, or “recently” graduated from a university very much like mine. That means that either your family has enough money to put you through college or your financial aid package finally came through. This is a really happy thing. You’re (mostly likely) at the University of Southern California. You’re in the 1% of the people in the world who get to go to college and on top of that you’re in the tippy top of that 1% percent because you go to one of the most amazing, incredible universities in the world. If that’s not a reason to be happy to you, then you might be doing it wrong.

3. LOOK AT THESE ADORABLE PUPPIES!

HOW COULD YOU

NOT BE HAPPY

WHEN LOOKING

AT THESE ADORABLE LITTLE MUNCHINS 

Okay. I got that out of my system now.

I recognize that some people might see this blog post as being naive because I seem to be ignoring all of the bad things in life to focus on the good. Well, that’s a very one-sided, black-and-white view of life. I realize that there are a lot of things to be sad about in life. I get that a lot of people are a lot less privileged than me but that’s kind of the reason to be happy. You’re not happy for other people’s misfortune because that’s crazy. You need to be happy yourself before you help anyone else. If you help anyone out of spite or the fact that it might make you feel better about yourself, you’re not doing it for the right reasons. You need to be happy and thankful for the things in your life to really understand their struggles and make it your mission to make them as happy as you are. You use your happiness to empower others to do the same thing. This isn’t naive. This is changing why we help others. 

Small side note: There’s also nothing wrong in doing something for yourself. Being selfish at times is healthy. Just don’t get stuck there. :) Being happy shouldn’t be something that detracts from the seriousness of life. It shouldn’t be something that you treat yourself to being; You deserve to be happy, no matter what. 

Being happy and optimistic is so easy and can make every single day you live through so much more enjoyable. While sometimes midterms take over and all you can think about is the stress and the grade, sometimes it’s a good idea to put on some Jack Johnson and look at some puppies online. Or whatever makes you happy! Maybe it’s some super sick cars or some awesome knitting patterns. No judgment. All I ask is that you think about being happy for about a minute a day. Just think of some things that went right or a nice small thing that happened this morning. Remember! This could save your life. 

Smile and Fight on!

– Kelly