Pursuit of Happiness

One's happiness should not be solely dependent on other people. Nowaday, there's too much of "what will they think of me?" and not enough of "what do I think of myself?". Or rather, the former is causative of the latter. What others think of me should not, and I hope eventually will not, influence what I think of myself. 

Happiness is often superficial, disguised and masked. And even when uncovered, it is difficult to let go of it due to dependency on it. A lot of the time, people feel like they need constant appraisal and acknowledgement from others. Appraisal and acknowledgement for what? For being noticed by the guy across the room? For wearing the latest Prada collection? For being "the one that did it" - whatever that means? For getting great marks? For being wealthy?

But what do I truly value? What do you truly value? I value what my real friends think about me. Am I a good person? Am I good to them? I value effort, integrity and progress, procrastination aside. Can I learn from my mistakes to do better next time? Do my efforts yield fruit, or more relatively, does it reflect my academic grade? I value my faith in Christ. Does my life reflect Jesus? "...Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matt. 5:44.

It's things like these that I try to focus on during times like these. Yes - examinations. But examinations among other things like relationships with others, anxiety, stress, insecurity, et. cetera, which are all at interplay. 


Know who you want to be. And by that, I mean really know yourself. Know what kind of person you want to be and go for it. Know what will make your happiness last and do it. Know what is important to you and guard it.