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The portion of the brain that regulates body temperature, hunger, and thirst. 

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The portion of the brain that regulates body temperature, hunger, and thirst. 

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Eating food and drinking are things that keep me motivated and happy. My hippocampus is responsible for letting me know when I am hungry or thirsty. Eating makes me very happy, as funny as it sounds, and after a long day the only thing I am interested in is having a good meal. Food motivates me and brings me energy, which contributes to my happiness. My favorite activity to do with my friends is to get food. I love to sit and talk with my friends while having good food. It is something we do almost every time we hangout and something that keeps me motivated to keep going through my day. Food also brings me physical energy that helps me to stay awake and alert and helps me to be less tired while I play lacrosse.

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The part of the brain that regulates emotion, especially anger and fear response. 

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The part of the brain that regulates emotion, especially anger and fear response. 

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Being able to regulate the way I feel may be the most important of all brain functions to contribute to my happiness. My ability to regulate negative emotions like sadness and anger gives me strength to keep up a positive attitude. Often, I get down or have trouble keeping my calm, but my amygdala takes control and allows me to be open-minded and content despite what happens around me. As I have gotten older, (and my brain has started to develop) my anger management skills have improved a ton. I notice this mostly when my dad or sisters do something that makes me angry, but I have been encouraging myself to stay calm by talking myself through it and taking deep breaths. When I was younger I would have outbursts of anger and want to yell at or hurt whoever made me upset, but as I have matured, my reactions have changed. I am able to be composed and regulate how I feel.

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The part of the brain that controls balance and coordination. 

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The part of the brain that controls balance and coordination. 

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My cerebellum is a part of my brain that I am very grateful for. Although I am not the most coordinated person, I still have the ability to put my body through intense workouts and to be athletic during during lacrosse games or practices. A quote I always repeat to myself during a hard game, workout, conditioning, etc. is "your body is stronger than your brain is telling you it is." It is simple but it aligns with the strength of a person's cerebellum. Most of the time when I give up, I have more to give, but my body is telling me that it hurts and it is time to stop. My body is so strong and capable of taking me further than my brain can. My cerebellum helps to keep my body in line and keep me on my feet when the voice in my head tells me to stop.

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The part of the brain that deals with alertness and arousal. 

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The part of the brain that deals with alertness and arousal. 

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My reticular formation allows me to be conscious, alert, and process information. During school, driving, and lacrosse, this part of my brain takes charge the most. When I am driving my car, I have to be extremely alert and look at all of my surroundings. Driving is very dangerous, despite people treating 3000-pound metal objects moving at fast speeds like they are unserious, and it can cause severe injuries. Getting into a car crash is one of my worst fears, and I have dreams nightly about it. I have also received a ticket, and it contributed to my massive fear of cops. When I drive, which is often, I am always on the lookout and try my best to limit distractions so that I can get to where I'm going ticket-less and safe. Rules of the road, lights, stop signs, other drivers, and cops are things that require attention and alertness.

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A neurotransmitter that regulates mood (happiness), hunger, sleep, and arousal. 

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A neurotransmitter that regulates mood (happiness), hunger, sleep, and arousal. 

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Serotonin has a direct influence on my happiness. I receive serotonin through the foods I eat, spending time outside in the sun, and having regular exercise. Serotonin balances mood, emotions, contentedness, relaxation, and positivity. Serotonin allows me to get a full night of rest and wake up ready for the day. It allows me to have a healthy appetite and eat food when my body needs it. It also helps me to stay alert and focused throughout my day. All of these factors contribute to mood and positive attitude.

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A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, emotion, and also controls our reward system. 

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A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, emotion, and also controls our reward system. 

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Dopamine plays a big role in my personal happiness because I thrive on a reward system. A reward system causes releases in dopamine when rewarding activities are experienced. I love to reward myself after a hard task or motivate myself to complete a task by having a reward when I am finished. I will reward myself with food, phone time, rest, or time with friends. All of these things give me a boost of dopamine prior to focusing on something difficult or less enjoyable. This system adds discipline and satisfaction in my life and makes me feel happy and proud of myself.

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The part of the brain responsible for decision making, personality, and higher-level executive functions.

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The part of the brain responsible for decision making, personality, and higher-level executive functions.

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My frontal lobe plays a role in my happiness when I make important and impacting decisions. A recent time in which I had to make an important decision was deciding whether or not to quit lacrosse or continue playing through my junior year. Lacrosse season was a hard period of time for me last year, and had a big effect on my mental health and happiness. This year, I wanted to prioritize myself and my mental wellness, and so I made the decision to continue, see it out, and know that I can always stop if it is too much for me to handle. I am happy I made this decision because my lacrosse season has been really enjoyable and much different this year. I am glad I made the decision to try again and hope for a different outcome, because it resulted in me being happy.

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Occipital Lobe- The part of the brain responsible for eyesight or vision. 

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Occipital Lobe- The part of the brain responsible for eyesight or vision. 

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My eyesight, in my opinion, is my most important sense. I think that it is easy to forget about your eyesight and not appreciate it because it is a simple thing that most people (should) have, but it really is important not to be taken for granted. Without my eyesight, I would not be able to do even half of the things I do now. I could not play lacrosse or drive and I would have to reteach myself a new way of life. My eyesight subconsciously contributes to my happiness when I do things like see my friends, try on a pretty dress I like, or see a beautiful sunset. All of these simple things make me so happy, and without my eyesight I would have that happiness removed from my life.

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The part of the brain responsible for hearing.

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The part of the brain responsible for hearing.

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Similar to eyesight, hearing is an extremely important sense that most people aren't able to fully appreciate because of the simplicity of it. My hearing is a huge source of my happiness and contributes to my daily life. Some examples of how my hearing makes me happy are being able to listen in class, and then achieve good grades, having a long talk with my friends and laughing at their jokes, listening to a good song, or communicating with my teammates during a lacrosse game. One of the most important things in my life is my friends, and without my temporal lobe being functional, I would not be able to hear them and connect to them in the way I do now. I love our long talks and funny jokes we share, they make me so happy, and all because I am able to hear them talk.

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The part of the brain that is responsible for creating and storing long-term memories and learning. 

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The part of the brain that is responsible for creating and storing long-term memories and learning. 

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My memory is extremely important to me. Mostly everything that I do involves my memory, like going to school, driving, being with friends and family, playing lacrosse, etc. At school, in order to learn and gain knowledge, I must be able to memorize it. While driving, I have to memorize the routes I take and the way I operate the vehicle. When around friends and family, I have to remember the past conversations and memories we have made in order to keep gaining a deep connection with them. Lastly, when I play lacrosse I have to memorize plays, my teammates playing methods, drills, etc. My memory plays the most important part of my life and contributes to all of the aspects of my life that make me happy. Being able to make memories with my friends and my lacrosse team are the greatest parts of my day.