https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc en-us 2018-04-03 16:45:05 UTC 2019-01-19 19:24:13 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Xmastree.png jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/249897040 Click below to see an ongoing log that will track my knowledge about the concept of Happiness over the course of this project!]]> 2018-04-09 16:15:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/249897040 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/252226936 Before we dive into this journey, it is important to first come up with a definition for happiness.  Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Acacia Parks, PhD, in the article attached below starts with identifying what happiness is not.  Diving below the superficial aspects of happiness, the article explains that there is more to being happy than what meets the eye.  Happiness is NOT necessarily having money; happiness is NOT found in a final destination.  Happiness IS the experiences we have; happiness IS continuous satisfaction.  Happiness is a part of the journey through life.     ]]> 2018-04-16 16:20:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/252226936 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/252231909 CNN Writer Winnie So uses various methods of rhetoric, including statistics (logos) and storytelling to appeal emotion (pathos) to convey that travel and experience is a source of true happiness.  So interviewed several scientists and researchers and discovered that travel is socially positive, educative of other cultures, and provides life-changing experiences that stick with us forever.  As social beings, travel is a great outlet to find true happiness while exploring the place we call home.   ]]> 2018-04-16 16:31:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/252231909 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/254485655 In the famed 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," young girl Veruca Salt is given whatever she wants, whenever she wants. But, obviously demonstrated in this video, she is not happy (she wants the golden egg now!), but she is instead quite selfish (and she suffers the consequences!). The video brings up questions that must be addressed in regard to the relationship between happiness and money.  Does wealth always lead to happiness?  Is happiness that is derived from wealth long-lasting?
In Veruca's case, she forces her father to buy materialistic items in order to only temporarily satisfy her needs, causing an insatiable hunger for more.  Willy Wonka uses Veruca's selfishness to teach a lesson about happiness and money to those in the world who may not realize right away that money may not always yield happiness.  ]]> 2018-04-23 16:25:53 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/254485655 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/256602200 When looking into the relationship between happiness and age, the graphic below tells an interesting story. It seems as though happiness levels are relatively high in childhood but then decrease to an all time low at around forty years of age before increasing for the remainder of life. This raises some serious questions. Why are people at around forty unhappy? Does it have anything to do with one's profession? ]]> 2018-04-30 16:40:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/256602200 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/256605788 When we think of The Great Depression, happy times are not what first typically come to mind.  So, among immense poverty and Hoovervilles, how did people stay happy?
For me personally, I would have a difficult time staying happy during this time period.  My great-grandma grew up during the Great Depression, and she has told me stories of eating meals consisting of only a slice of bread and butter.  Given the bustling life we live today, I cannot imagine having to go through a time like that.  However, my great-grandma, then a young girl, found happiness in playing games with her friends and neighbors.      
Many adults (like the ones pictured below), however, used other methods to be 'happy.'  One particular method included drinking alcohol.  While Prohibition and The Great Depression did overlap for a few years, people still found a way to obtain booze (sometimes illegally!) in order to stay 'happy.'  This raises some serious questions.  Why are people willing to break the law in order to stay 'happy?'  Is it just for a guilty pleasure?  Does alcohol really get in the way of finding happiness? Why do people still resort to alcohol for happiness today?         ]]> 2018-04-30 16:48:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/256605788 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261042563 Often times, I wonder how professionals in the world can help others attain happiness.  Connecting happiness to one's spirit, Deborah Walters tells stories about her patients who have struggled finding happiness in a life filled with stress.  While taking a more spiritual approach, Deborah offers both religious and secular solutions to obtain one's happiness.  She focuses on finding an "axis point" that one can revolve around.  After seeing this video, I believe that one's axis point can be just about anything: a friend, a pet, an object, a job, etc.  Regardless, Walters's story emphasizes that no matter one's beliefs, happiness is attainable by understanding one's own needs.      ]]> 2018-05-15 23:51:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261042563 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261047455 Check out the info graphic below to learn more about the relationship between happiness and guilt!]]> 2018-05-16 00:24:25 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261047455 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261053743 Throughout this exploration, I have done some pondering myself about what makes me truly happy. Family, traveling, and helping others are at the top of my list. I often try to implement my other passions into what makes me happy. For example, one of my favorite ways to keep track of my travels is through photography. Attached below, you will see a link to my VSCO page, where I often post pictures I have taken that log where I have been, who I have encountered, and what I have learned. Additionally, significant others (especially my dog!) will occasionally show up on my page.  By logging my sources of happiness through one of my greatest passions, I have created a way to constantly relive  memories that make me happy, and hopefully I can share my experiences with others to make them happier, too. ]]> 2018-05-16 01:10:12 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261053743 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261056077 In his article, "Happiness Guaranteed: The Backwardness of the American Dream," writer Cosmin Gheorghe explores how the ideology behind American Dream has changed over time. Realizing that people should have to work hard in order to be successful (and then achieve happiness), Gheorghe also emphasizes that the American Dream has changed, sometimes imprisoning those into dreaming of something that is not realistic. ]]> 2018-05-16 01:25:58 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261056077 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261056642 Drum Roll, Please! Click the video below to see my final conclusions.]]> 2018-05-16 01:29:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261056642 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261057365 Click below to see a LIVE feed of tweets using #happiness.  What better way to learn about what others consider happiness to be than to see a live feed on Twitter?  ]]> 2018-05-16 01:33:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261057365 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261059537 Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!  Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth!
Pharrell Williams's iconic "Happy" (music attached below) takes on an upbeat and optimistic view about happiness and what it can be.  Watching a music video of people of all ages get up and dance to the same song made me want to sing along. Pharrell's video creates a vision that happiness can be easily attainable for all, no matter what kind of position someone may be in. It definitely contrasts to some of the other "gloomy" and "doomy" outlooks other authors have in their works.  ]]> 2018-05-16 01:47:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261059537 jakekli7748 https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261069248 See the document below containing an important quotation from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.]]> 2018-05-16 02:35:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jakekli7748/myelg78j8xlc/wish/261069248