Happiness is overrated. It is always eluding us, once it gets here it never lasts, and we alway seem get it at the most unsuspecting of times. There were days when I would be driving in my car after an exam, or after work and a happy feeling would come over me it was like some huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I would feel indestructible, on top of the world so to speak, and it was amazing. But it was at times like these that I realize no matter how good it is going; things always find a way of balancing out. And so during these times I felt a number of mixed emotions, but happiness was definitely there, yet it wasn't there for very long because reality would reel me back in from my happy-place.
Happiness without sadness would be a pain in the ass. Ask anyone who has seen the movie Pleasantville. A happy-go-lucky world where everything is perfect is comparable to hell, there is no sadness, or pain to juxtapose the happiness and make us realize how special those happy moments truly are.
Now don't get me wrong, happiness is amazing. In that feeling of euphoria we realize what we can accomplish, and how wonderful life truly is. But like I said life has a way of balancing out. When we are put through trials in our life we do not realize the important lessons we are learning until it is over. And, in most cases what we learn isn't what we want to do the next time we need to apply that learned knowledge. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly, we learn from any experience in life, be it our first spelling test, to our complex math exam last week; we learn and we grow from these experiences. But is happiness on par with self-respect? I feel it is no where close and I consider self-respect and integrity to be interchangeable.
A long time ago as a wee lad, my 8th grade U.S. History teacher, Mrs. LaCour told everyone one of us on the first day of class, "Achieving a good grade in your classes should be your greatest goal, but never sacrifice your integrity to achieve that goal." I was thirteen at the time, I had a vague idea of what she was talking about I wanted to do great in school, but something about integrity? What? It was some time later that I realized what she said.
Integrity. It defines us, it is who we are because of what we say or do. How do you want to be remembered? In one of my classes here at AVC I noticed something that was interesting. In one of my classes our teacher would quiz us on material we were supposed to have studied the night before, but not everyone could study the material as thorough as was necessary to ace the quizzes. I sat in the back and I noticed two gentlemen copying the answers from one another, every time. One of them was a guy I knew from previous classes and he often asked me if I wanted a peek. I told him, "No thanks man, I think I got it." Even though there were plenty of times I was like "I am so lost... or... what the heck...?" My integrity, it used to be a loose association of me. And at one point I was someone I didn't want to be. But now? It drives me, it makes me want to be the better man, the best man I can be. My life has been tough, though the happiness never lasts, one thing remains everlasting, my integrity. It is priceless and all mine, and no I will not give it up lightly or anytime soon.
I liked your title, it reminds me of those Master Card commercials and caught my attention! I too wrote about happiness and self-respect. Like you I concluded that happiness does not last and that self-respect is a much more amiable goal to have, it is something that can not be taken away. I did not think of what it would be like to live in a perfectly happy world where sadness did not exist. You made a very good point in saying that sadness is needed for us to appreciate happiness. You need the valleys to contrast the mountains, so to speak, otherwise all would be flat and where is the interest and excitement in that? If happiness was a constant thing, those happy moments that we all experience (such as driving into a colorful sunset on a warm evening with the car windows rolled down) would not stand out and there would be no meaning to the word happy. I agree that integrity is something that cannot be taken away, unless we compromise it. Because we can compromise our own integrity such as cheating on a test, it is a driving force like you said. We are driven to be better and not make a decision that will make us loose respect for ourselves.
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