Blog Post #3

     Being with my friends and family is what makes me the happiest. I feel comfortable and relaxed with the people around me and I can really enjoy myself. I also feel happy whenever I play sports. I can be a competitive person and when I play a good game I often have a good time.

     The idea of a national happiness index has come up in class and I have mixed feelings for if it would be a good idea or not. Happiness is a mood that can change a lot during a day an answer could change depending on the time of day. Being truly happy living in your country could get mixed in with something like having an argument with a friend. I believe that there are too many factors to consider in getting a statistic of how happy a country is. The best way to measure happiness could be taking multiple surveys over a few days with the same people and averaging out the happiness.

     The Story "I've Been Called A Luddite" is about a man who does not enjoy the things technology has to offer. The narrator Prefers to mail instead of text and use a typewriter instead of a computer. There's a part in the story where the narrator refers to the people outside the UN as "funny-looking people from around the world" it makes me think that they are missing out on what is going on around the world. The narrator is closed off from the world due to the lack of technology. This could be a more simple lifestyle that is enjoyable to people but I just can't imagine what it would be like with all my experiences. 

     In the NY Times article, "But Will It Make You Happy," claims that changing your buying habits can improve your happiness. The idea that spending your money on experiences rather than things is a good way to increase your happiness. When you are "keeping up with the Joneses" you are trying to outdo or own more luxurious materials than another family. I can agree with what the article is saying. I often find myself holding back on buying things because I know that I can enhance an trip with my friends if we spend some money to do things.  

    Here is an image of what happiness represents to me.

“Water Park.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_park.

     This photo represents happiness to me because I have had a lot of good experiences at water parks with my friends. This is a generic picture of a water park because I lost all of my original pictures but it still holds the same idea.