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Family is supposed to make you happy right, but what if it doesn't. Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to be happy without having comfort or happiness at home? If you have family problems going on at home and that makes you sad, you have to rely on the other parts of your life to keep you happy which can be hard. People are constantly looking at the negatives in life and are always missing all the good and beautiful things that they have right there for them. Know one thinks about all the unique things each of us have to make us happy. In the Great Gatsby for example, Tom has almost the perfect family at this time. However that isn't enough for Tom and disobeys his family to make himself more happy. Maybe if Tom was more reminded of what he had and realized all the very good things about his life he would not be disloyal.

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Friends can defiantly get you down sometimes, but really they help your overall happiness. Remember theses things next tipppppppppme you have to forgive your friend.
-The Happiest People are the Most Social
-Happiness Is Contagious
-Friends Cut the Small Talk—and That Makes Us Happy
-We Turn to Friends When We’re Stressed
-Our Friends Help Us Feel Optimistic
-Friendships Improve Our Health
-Our Friends Help Us Live Longer
It is also hard to maintain friendships. When people grow up, move-away, etc, it is hard to keep these friendship...this video shares some tips how to maintain your friendship.

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Happiness- is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy;good fortune (wallsneedlove.com)
Happiness- the state of being happy(google)
Happiness-is a state of man which corresponds to the greatest internal satisfaction of his being conditions, completeness, and conciseness of life, realization his human destination.(slideshare.com)

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Happier-Ed Sheeran
¨You look Happier you do¨
This song I think really does a great good of reminding me that you sometimes have to sacrifice your happiness for others happiness. In the song his girlfriend moves on to someone new, he says that she looks happier. Even though he would much rather be with her he has to let her go so she can be happy. Lyric Video
Happier-Marshmellow
¨Then only for a minute
I want to change my mind
'Cause this just don't feel right to me
I want to raise your spirits
I want to see you smile but
Know that means I'll have to leave¨
Similarly to the last song this one discusses what its like to let something that you love go. It says in the song that is doesn't feel right to me, this shows his discomfort with letting her go. But he knows that he needs to let her go in order for her to be happy.
^Lyric video
Happy-Pharrell Williams
¨Huh, because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth¨
This song just generally is positive, the message behind it is that this person is so happy that nothing can stop the flow of happiness. It also reminds us that happiness is contagious so spread it! ^Lyric Video

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The ongoing argument still today is if social media is good or bad for us. Does Social media make you happy, or does it make you sad. When you see you friends post hanging out without you, that would make you sad. But if you see some posted for you birthday that is such a good feeling. However personally I lived for a while when I swore off social media to see what it felt like. I would say that it made me much more sad seeing all my friends taking to people on their phone and knowing that i couldn't do that. And even if you do have social media if you see that you friend has like 5 of six snap-chats to open and they get responses really quick when you only have one. Overall social media makes us both sad and happy in different ways.

¨60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way

50% reported social media having negative effects on their relationships

80% reported that is easier to be deceived by others through their sharing on social media¨ (Odyssey)

Even in The House on Mango Street when there was no technology or social media, they are still heavily influenced by what the community says and does. They then let this affect there happiness of the place that they live.

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There's no doubt that in this day and age social media has been associated with higher levels of loneliness, jealousy, anxiety, depression, egotism and a large decrease in social skills.

60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way

50% reported social media having negative effects on their relationships

80% reported that is easier to be deceived by others through their sharing on social media

The stories we all share and portray on social media are optimistic and usually only show the joyful side of things. With social media, we are made to believe that everyone we know is in really great relationships, taking amazing vacations, and living their best lives. We are all only seeing the highlight reels. It's easy to compare, even if it's unconsciously, our lives to the lives of others based on the photos they share.

People are forgetting how to interact with each other in real-life too. Posting photos of dinners and selfies for some are their way interacting with others. Social media is making us think we know everything about each other and each other's days already, which is causing us to lose the need to talk in person.

The version of yourself that you portray on social media is no doubt constantly seeking validation through electronic likes, rather than actual life. For some, posting what they want other people to see and getting likes, and re-tweets helps them feel better about themselves while also helping them feel connected to others.

Match.com recently reported that 51% of people say social media has made them feel more self-conscious about their appearance.

It's a known fact that social media users are becoming progressively more depressed when they begin to compare themselves to other social media profiles. But what happens when people begin to compare themselves to their own profile? It's been shown that if a person's reality does not match the social media deception that they post on their profiles, they will start to feel as if they are not living up to the greatest form of themselves. Not. Good.

I'm not saying that everyone is like this either. Sure, there are some people that are very confident and are emotionally secure, but a majority of us are at least a little bit affected by the negative effects of social media. I, for one, can't help it. Yes, we have the #bodypositivity movement, and that is a huge help, but what else can we do to stop us, and especially younger children, from learning that it's normal to not love yourself and the life you have?

For all of us to acknowledge and accept these effects without any disregard for how it hurts us emotionally is what the core of the problem is. What is social media doing to our sense of self? Are we all becoming more insecure? Is this the new norm? What are we going to do about this?

We need to start loving ourselves. We need to stop comparing ourselves to social media. Now.

For a more in-depth look at the real effects of social media, check out this article: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-facebook-makes-us-unhappy.

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Social Media Makes Us More Unhappy Than We Think

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There's no doubt that in this day and age social media has been associated with higher levels of loneliness, jealousy, anxiety, depression, egotism and a large decrease in social skills.

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Why more people are not happy and the fantasy behind the idea of Happiness.  

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Why more people are not happy and the fantasy behind the idea of Happiness.  

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Personally I think that everyone has their own idea of what happiness is. And yes to most it is a fantasy and might be a little unrealistic. Everyone has an image in their head of what their best life would be. Like in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby has a image in his head of what his perfect life would be like. He would have Daisy, still be rich, and live with Daisy. However his idea of happiness kind of changes after he reaches it. Overall I think in our lifetime the fantasy that we all have in our heads change throughout our life and experiences.

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Once you achieve what you think is happiness, how do you maintain this. If you know the things that make you happy then the way to stay happy would be to maintain these things. If you continue these things that make you so happy then how would you ever loose that happiness? This article that I found really focuses on finding and keeping the things that make you happy in your life.

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Let me begin by acknowledging that the internet probably doesn't need another post about how to be happier. You're smart. I bet you already own(If you do need one, here are 101 ways to cheer yourself up.) this book. I bet you've read eleventy listicles about exercise and journaling and self-care. You've read all the happiness tips from The Well-Intentioned Internet People. But, uh, what if you don't actually know what makes you happy?

What if you've done all the things that seem to make Most of us have vague ideas of what makes us happy. Maybe we're reasonably happy on a day-to-day basis but we've never really put much thought into where those feelings come from or what, specifically, about an experience is making us happy. other people happy and they just don't do much for you? Dude, welcome to the club. When you can pinpoint what makes you happy, you can add more of it to your life. Simple as that. Click To Tweet
Finding your happiness is an art, not a science but here are five things I've done to help me figure where my happiness is coming from.

1. Wipe your happiness slate clean

If you're a human who is alive, the society you grew up in has Ideas about what happiness looks like. These Ideas have permeated our lives since the moment we could understand shapes and colors; they've wormed their way into our soft, sweet subconsciouses. On some level, most of us believe we will be happier when:

We are thinner than we are now

We earn more money

We live in a bigger, prettier, better-located home

We have more friends

We're in a committed romantic relationship

And maybe some of those things really will make us happier! Supportive relationships and aerobic activity have been shown to reduce depression. I imagine moving into a space with more natural light and a shorter commute wouldn't hurt anything, either. But for the sake of this experiment let's do our very, very best to let go of preconceived notions about what makes us happy. Let's forget what our families and friends believe happiness looks like. Let's view this as a grand experiment with totally unknown results. Who knows what we'll discover! P.S. Don't get down on yourself for "buying into cultural expectations of happiness." We all do it. We're not robots. For pete's sake, Oprah's been trying to diet her way to happiness for two decades.

2. Start taking detailed notes when you feel really happy

You know those moments of " If this isn't nice, I don't know what is "? Those moments when you'd lift your face to the sky and grin (but you don't because it feels awkward), make note of those moments. Open up the 'notes' app on your phone and type in what, exactly, you were doing. Yes, I know this is dorky. And, yes, I know you're thinking "I should do that!" And then you're not going to, in fact, do it. Do it. I think you'll be really surprised by what actually makes you happy.
Here's an actual screenshot of my list. You'll note that it's oddly specific because I've found that the devil (and happiness, apparently) is in the details.

Reading fiction in the morning feels luxurious. Reading non-fiction in the morning feels like homework.

Being in nature in a group feels noisy and vaguely annoying, like I need to keep everyone on the path and make sure no one brings ticks into the car. Being in nature alone feels holy.

Having a good pedicure makes me feel fresh and clean, put together and happy. Having a fresh manicure feels like "meh."

Watching TV alone feels like I'm wasting time or confusing self-care with self-indulgence. Having a weekly, group TV-watching date feels like a fun, easy way to catch up with my friends and treat myself.

3. Lovingly dissect those happy moments so you can make more of 'em

Let's say I feel down-to-my-bones happy every time I find myself drinking Friday afternoon cocktails on a patio with my ladies. I could, of course, say "Okay! Cocktails every Friday with my friends for the rest of my liiiiiife!!!" But I suspect there's more to it than that. Do I love these Friday afternoon drinks because ... It feels good to catch up with my friends? I love doing things at a time of day/week/month when most people are at work? Eating and drinking outside is The Actual Best? Being able to buy a $13 cocktail makes me feel successful and accomplished? All of the above? If I need all those factors in place to feel truly thrilled, then yes! I should fill my Fridays with patio drinks! But if I realize that it's the friendship and connection that's filling me up, I can get those any day of the week, in any location as long as a buddy is present.

4. Remember what made you happy as a child

If you're still not quite sure what floats your boat, think about the things you loved as a kid. What made us happy before we were worried about what was cool? What did we like when we weren't concerned about the expense or difficulty? What did we love before we worried about being 'good enough'? What did we enjoy that doesn't even fit under the 'hobby' heading? Rolling down hills? Finger painting? Dressing the dog in outfits? If it made you happy then, it'll probably make you happy now. Why don't you give it a try and find out?

5. Remind yourself "This makes me happy"

Many of the things that make me happy are, to be honest, a hassle (and by 'hassle' I mean "require me to put on real clothes, google something, and leave the house"). Intellectually, I know taking a day trip to Hudson, working in a new coffee shop, and then hanging out on the sandbar will make me really happy ... but it is just SO MUCH EASIER to keep working at home in my yoga pants. Here's how I remember what makes me happy:

I wrote a list of the things that make me happy - big and little, easy and difficult - and posted that list next to my computer. Whenever my mind wanders, whenever I'm feeling blue, I can look to the right of my computer screen and remember that reading a chapter of this book while cuddling the dog will make me happy.

When I'm in the middle of doing something that makes me happy I actually say to myself, "This makes me happy."

I'm eating chocolate mousse at a supper club in rural South Dakota? I'm hiking around a lake on a sunny Tuesday afternoon? I just bought an amazing chair on Craigslist for $50? P.S. "This makes me happy." "This makes me happy." "This makes me happy." Reciting this little phrase helps cement these happy-making habits in my brain and life. It helps me feel proud for taking steps to have the life I want. It reminds me that the hassle of happy - the planning, the boundary pushing, the saving and scheduling - is totally worth it. Do you know what makes you happy? If you really think about it and dissect it, are you surprised by anything that lights you up? 101 ways to cheer yourself up + Life has big plans for you.

P.P.S. Did you know I have a (free) private Facebook group dedicated solely to the topics of money and happiness? And the stuff we talk about has helped members change jobs, save thousands of dollars, and fight less with their partners? Join us!

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How To Figure Out What Makes You Happy (so you can do more of it) -

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Let me begin by acknowledging that the internet probably doesn't need another post about how to be happier. You're smart. I bet you already own(If you do need one, here are 101 ways to cheer yourself up.) this book. I bet you've read eleventy listicles about exercise and journaling and self-care.

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As I have previously said happiness can come from different things for each person. For me, something that makes me happy is my sport. And for lots of people around the world. I think this feeling of almost being lost in the moment makes it so much easier to be happy. When you are playing or doing something that you really enjoy, you do think about all the other things that you have going on in your life. This is true no just with sports but also in general.

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If you are not happy, a way to distract yourself in the moment could be to watch some Netflix or YouTube etc, to clear your mind. This is not a long term solution by but helps a lot in the moment.