The Happiness Myth

Lately, life has been busy. You know…life of a family with little ones…full-time working Mom and more than full-time working Dad. Having fun and going swimming on weekends and some evenings. Enjoying the warm weather and trying to fit as much in as we can during the times we are together as a whole family. A while ago I didn’t pass the English certification test that I needed to become a teacher. Time has gone by and I’ve found it very difficult to motivate myself again to study to re-take it. I knew if I just started studying, I would get in a groove again and be able to continue. But I kept putting it off! Then, I found time to study…but it was overwhelming. There is SO much to know for this test! Literature, 17 pages of TITLES of literature, mind you. Not only knowing the basic plot and summary of each piece of literature, but the history of what was going on in society at the time, who the author is and their background, parts of grammar/etc. It’s just…it’s a lot. So, I would stud

Marriage isn’t easy! These are the hard knocks that I’ve come across, and the things I do to make everything easier. I’ve decided to start blogging more regularly…whether for my own mental health or just to share any *pretend* wisdom I might have. Ha! I enjoy writing, so this is a wonderful outlet for me to practice my writing, think about writing a book (which I’ve always dreamed of doing), focus on emotional intelligence and seek to improve my own personal relationships as well. So, I have been married to my husband for 4 years this month…(yay us!)…and it definitely hasn’t all been happiness and romantic gestures. He is a police officer and in the military and I work full-time as well. Life is good, busy, stressful and awesome. Mostly stressful and awesome…but also hard sometimes! My husband and I both have very strong personalities…like…STRONG. We got in more than one *small* (Ok, sometimes huge) argument while we were dating, so I knew the relationship would always be a bit

So, I don't write about happiness and love because I am perfect at having it in my life all of the time. I write about it because I seek for it myself, and while I am seeking for happiness I want to share what I learn with you. Work has been hard for me lately, especially being pregnant! I work in an interesting dynamic and am still not used to it. When I was in High School, I was the one who knew everyone's secrets. For some reason, all of my friends went to me for advise, to share their secrets and complain about others. I didn't realize how much information I had and it always blew up in my face. Often I was the friend in the middle and would let the secrets slip to the wrong people. I would often get in trouble for saying too much. Eventually I learned my lesson and would tell people that I didn't want to know their secrets because I couldn't promise that something wouldn't escape my mouth! I was aware of my weaknesses and couldn't handle all of the

So, I have been thinking about the past, and my experiences and what has been one of the biggest helps in my life up to this point...and it is....learning how to express emotions! Let me tell you...cause I'm going to anyway...haha...that I heard SO much growing up things like "boys don't cry", "just get over it" and "you'll be fine" and "you're ok". You know...those things we all hear in life that make us push down and hide those unwanted emotions! I found over time that being the spunky, funny, optimistic girl was really not all it was cracked up to be. Yes of course, I enjoyed the popularity that came with it, but rarely was I allowed to be sad...or angry...or really anything else but happy! I got so tired of people asking me what was wrong when I wasn't smiling that I just smiled so no one would bother me. I played the role...I played a part. Don't we all do this?! Does this hit home for any of you? My awakening w

Seriously....why not have happiness every day?! Of course...there will always be struggles...they are definitely real, but why not find happiness in the every-day even among the struggles? But...why should you listen to me? Well......good question.... I grew up one of those annoying, hyper, noisy, nosy people...and I kinda still am :) I was happy and smiley so often that when I had a plain face on, my friends would ask me "what's wrong?"...Now, I'm definitely not as hyper as I used to be...especially now that I am pregnant. Can anyone say, exhausted much?!! Goodness...lol. BUT...I still have the extreme sense of optimism that I have always had. I believe with all of my heart that we are all blessed with natural personality traits, and something to give in this world to others. One of mine just happens to be this overly annoying optimistic viewpoint! I believe that it is because of this that some people have called me "nosy" growing up, when really I am