Finding True Happiness

It was my junior year of high school when I heard the upsetting news about a close family friend. He had been showing obvious symptoms since November of 2011 but his doctors were diagnosing him with the wrong illnesses. He had smoked a couple packs of cigarettes a day for numerous years but quit smoking for almost two years before he heard the tragic news in January of 2012. As you could assume, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.

In the beginning of 2012, he spent almost two months in and out of the hospital. Before it was time for his second chemotherapy session, it was too late. The cancer was spreading profoundly in his body, deteriorating all that made up his chest. We dreaded the day where he would no longer be with us; we knew it was coming too soon. To avoid leaving the memory of a deceased dad in their home and to ensure a pain free last couple of weeks, his two children, who were in their early twenties, and frightened wife made the decision to take him to Hosparus in late February. He passed on March 16, 2012, but, not once in that timespan did I see him lose that unforgettable smile and humor of his.

Rather than being caught up in the pain and fright cancer brought, he chose to be happy because of the company he was surrounded by during that time. The weeks others and I spent in the hospital with him were consumed by laughter, instead of tears, surprisingly. He was doing all sorts of hilarious things, from his shot of whiskey to rapping in his hospital bed, while supporting the University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team. It was what he loved that made him happy: the company, whiskey, laughter, listening to Jimmy Buffett and watching the UofL Cardinals. Overall, it was his company and positivity during his suffering of a terminal illness that caused me to reconsider how I approached my happiness.

I believe that happiness is something we create by living with love; causing it to be a way of travel and not an end-result. It is not a response to material things or people. Instead of chasing after the most recent brand name purse or demanding to visit a new vacation spot every year, I learned to be happy by surrounding myself with those I loved and participating in activities and hobbies I enjoyed. By doing so, I have easily retained the joyful feeling.

It is harder to create happiness when you are experiencing something negative in your life, such as stress, pain, death, etc. But, if you continue to surround yourself with those people and activities, you will not be distracted from creating happiness. Although it took an unfortunate event in my life to find what true happiness was, I am grateful for the experience and time I spent with that family friend.