It took me 24 years to realize some deep things in life and honestly, I’m grateful for the ignorance of all those years. It was almost like living in an illusion and now that I realize, I feel sad it’s over.

When you were a kid, you felt like you were missing out on a lot, but as an adult, you’ve realized how much bliss and simplicity you were living in. The disparity is so alarming that you always wish you were a kid again. It’s therefore no surprise if you still keep some of your childish traits.

It connects you to the child you once were and who doesn’t want to be as light as a child or as carefree and innocent. One thing I realized is that your happiness solely depends on you. I’m sure this is not news to you and neither is it to me.

But I would say I believed that on a surface level, nothing deeper than that. I still looked for happiness in people and things. Other people’s action still affect me and I still cry over stuff that happened years ago.

Maybe you can’t relate. Maybe you’ve realized this truth long before now. I want to bet it didn’t feel so good either. We live in a world where you cannot merely survive on your own. You need human interaction, food, clothes; you need to feel things. That’s how you know you’re alive.

So it’s not entirely your fault if you tie your happiness to things or people or if you still want to be a little kid dependent on others for your happiness. I’m guilty on both sides of the coin and they snatched my little heaven from me so I’m not doing okay 😂

My first goal in life was to be happy. When I set that goal, I was not sad. I just always thought it was a final destination after I had achieved everything I wanted to. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

There’s this phrase I read in a book that says “It is easy to be heavy, and hard to be light”

What this means is that it’s easy to be sad. Negativity is much more glaring than positivity. That’s why one foul deed can ruin all the good deeds someone has done. It’s easy to complain, to play the victim or to always go around grumpily.

It’s harder to stay positive, to smile even if it hurts. It takes courage not to worry, to choose happiness despite any situation you find yourself.

So, if I could tie that to something or someone, why not? Why do I have to go through the rough road? It’s still the same happiness, just different routes.

Here’s why? Happiness does not require any add-ons or extensions, it’s all on you. Someone can make you happy, yes, but that’s because you allow it. If you don’t laugh at a joke, then it’s not funny.

Also, you will be so disappointed 😔 It’s like that feeling of betrayal when your favorite food vendor does not show up on a day you really need it. You disappoint yourself sometimes, so why do you expect so much from others too?

Happiness is something only you can give yourself and no one or nothing can take it away unless you give them the power to do so. Why do you think someone having fun in conditions that seem pitiful to you always makes you smile? It’s because you don’t expect them to be happy in situations like that, but they conveniently defy the standards of happiness.

Happiness has no standard. It does not need this person to do something or that thing to happen, it only requires your choice.

So, what’s it gonna be?