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Non-Fiction Essay. My Pursuit of Happiness.

Today I look back at things that have happened in my life, and I am thankful for two reasons; I have been a student of life and developed character.  An unbreakable persistence to do things that pertain to my life and assume things that do not add value to my well-being. I am finding peace in doing the simple things that make me happy and, at the same time, taking on adaptive challenges to model myself to the person I would look through the mirror and admire. While my environment has influent a lot of who I am today, I owe most of my successes to the people around me and my efforts and commitment to learn new things and attribute my failures to myself as an accountable human being, not ready to take chances placing my life’s responsibility on the shoulders of other people.

My pursuit of happiness started the moment I came to things world. Mu mum always said I was different, extremely curious, and highly reserved about things that I did not like. She said I was particularly clingy and would cry out loud until what I felt pressing was met. She once told me there was a day I carried at a mall and refused to walk until she bought me an automobile toy – if this is not a pursuit for happiness for a toddler, then I do not know what it is. My desire has always been to get what I want. However, as I grow and learn more about life, I have learned this is not always the case. At times, I have to compromise, go without, and let other people win, because, in my opinion, the best part of happiness does not always have me at the top.

My childhood does not imply that I have always been a ‘mean and self-centered’ freak. I had had many sacrifices for the sake of the happiness of others. In primary school, I had to go for weeks with my favorite gadget, my laptop, so my elder sister could use it to study. In this case, I do not take pride in my action because much persuasion coupled with coercion had to come into play to make me surrender my laptop for many words. Looking back, I am proud of my actions because they did not only help my sister and remedied our almost-breaking relationship as a sibling. One of my favorite authors, Zig Ziglar, once said: “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

I cannot say I have entirely been happy at school and home, even with my persistence to be happy. I remember one semester in high school when everything almost came tumbling down in my eyes. It was during the first term of my senior year, and I was eyeing an honoree award for best behaved from sophomore year. By this time, I was getting really popular and invited to parties with many new friends. This was the right mixture of happiness, comprising friends, fame, and admiration from different school stakeholders. Not long ago, it started slipping from my perfect behavior and performance track record. With good grades and good behavior, even my parents were inclined to let a few things fall without constraining me too much. Little did I know that the Holy Book’s words “To whom much is given, much will be required” would become a learning lesson for me. Too much...