David Van Vugt September 16, 2013 English 1100 Professor Lago Happiness In everybodys life, there are

e elements of sadness and happiness. Poor or rich, male or female, popular or unpopular, the human race discovers in various ways elements of gravity and elements of felicity. Stumbling upon a dollar bill would make anyone happy, while losing money denotes a form of unhappiness. As these two ideas collide, people realize that one needs sadness just as much as happiness. Without sadness, there would be no realization of happiness, for something cannot be truly appreciated without experiencing its opposite. In her article Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness, Jennifer Senior extracts a piece of information that leads to the realization that happiness shines brightest with a taint of sadness. She points out that those who are permanently injured say theyd be willing to pay far less to undo their injuries (qtd. in Senior 426). This shows that the disabled, who have been through more physical trials than those without physical disabilities, no longer feel the need to satisfy themselves externally, and are content with being alive and able to do simple tasks the same tasks that we all too often take for granted. Senior quotes Christopher Reeve, the famous actor who played Superman, who became a quadriplegic, who said, I didnt appreciate others nearly as much as I do now (427). My score on the Authentic Happiness quiz was a 3.08. Since I consider myself a relatively happy person, I can say from experience that hardships make one happier. The trials of school and the burden of work make vacation all the more relaxing, making the vacationer all the

happier. Without schoolwork throughout Autumn, Winter, and Spring, students would not appreciate Summer nearly as much and would therefore not be as happy during the summer. One effect that makes me happy is being with my family a loss in the family makes one appreciate the family much more. If family life had no quarrels, no burdens, no losses, true love and happiness would not exist, for then the family would not know any different. However, with quarrels, with burdens, with losses, I can bond with my family all the more, and that expression of love is an expression of happiness. Jennifer Senior claims that aged people tend to be happier than young people (qtd. in Behrens and Rosen 425). In general, the elderly have more trials in their life than the youth, and yet since they can look back and see what they have been through, older people can experience a higher state of felicity. Young people, who very often do not realize that true happiness can be contrived in everyday life, look for happiness by doing various things, and in their incessant quest they become very unhappy. People become sad for numerous reasons. It is important to realize that just because someone is sad, it does not necessarily mean that he is a pessimistic person. Since sadness often brings out happiness in a persons life, a sad person could very well be happy later in life, and his sadness is a conditioning for him that will lead to future happiness. Jennifer Senior also claims that studies show that married people are happier than those who are not married (qtd. in Senior 425). This could be because married couples necessarily have to go through multiple trials together; single people do not have as many worries and therefore do not appreciate life after going through sadness as much as those whose burdens show them the true meaning of happiness. Although a single person might find much bliss in enjoying life through singlehood, through various activities, the absence of going through trials

with somebody, and thus bonding with that person even closer, will cause an unmarried person to continue to search for true contentedness without ever finding it. Of course this does not mean that only married people can be happy; it only shows that the married naturally will experience hardships and sadness that will make them happier in the end. Sadness can also bring realization in a persons life. Jennifer Senior asserts that as study shows that depressives are far more likely to be realists, while happy people are more likely to walk around in a mild state of delusion. (qtd. in Senior 430) Those who are optimistic all the time often miss reality, and therefore in the end can become depressed since their lives were always in a happy sort of bubble. Pessimists, on the other hand, realize life for what it is, and can handle it better. Later in life, when a pessimist goes through all of his trials, he will be able to look back and see a fulfilled, actual life and be happy with it. Sadness is the absence of happiness; however, without ever being sad, people could never appreciate the true value of happiness. When a person goes through periods of life where deep sadness sets in, the aftereffects, although it may take some time, produce a sort of contended happiness in which a person can realize that true happiness is the kind that is most appreciated. Gravity is necessary for bliss. When you see someone who is sad of feeling down, so not immediately think that they are a miserable type of person they could be going through a period of sadness that will make them a happier person in the end.

Works Cited Behrens, Laurence and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.