Dear Readers,

Many of us know the song “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi, but pursuing happiness as a young adult isn’t always as complicated as it seems.

Always focusing on your responsibilities can prevent you from finding joy in day-to-day interactions. Whether it is a short chat with an old friend or a thoughtful gesture like your mom sending you $5 for a midday snack, these small things can go unnoticed when you are glued to your laptop. Removing yourself and giving your mind a break while studying to notice the good things around you will go farther than you may think. 

Noticing the small things around you will also help cultivate your mindset about other situations besides the small ones; it can extend toward situations that are more serious. Allowing yourself to find the beautiful things around you in the midst of a mind cluster is a great distracting tool in some situations, along with allowing yourself to recognize the things that are bothering you and finding alternative options to calm yourself down is a great option. Everything boils down to your mindset.  

Adopting mindfulness and gratitude is a great way to cultivate a happy mindset. Acknowledging when you’re having a great day is important amid the end-of-semester chaos, and carving out time for your passions and hobbies is a great way to give yourself permission to let loose and fully indulge in something you find beautiful. 

Embracing happiness often involves being present in the moment. Fully investing yourself in conversations without social media distractions is a great way to build connections and embrace vulnerability. Through connections and friendships come moments of happiness and opportunities to create memories, and allowing yourself to be fully invested rather than distracted by responsibilities is crucial to building life-lasting connections. 

Pursuing happiness does not always look like focusing on the beauty around you; it also relates to the ability within yourself to focus on the things that make you happy. While hobbies and fun activities are great ways to find happiness from within, you can do so much more. Pursuing happiness can look like enjoying the nice weather with some friends at Tuttle Creek or focusing on your career and what your future looks like; it can be anything you want, as long as it brings positive energy into your life. 

While this is not an immediate fix to switching your mindset to everything rainbows, taking a step back and finding the beauty in things around you is better than allowing negative things in life to consume you.