Alex Gibbs

Professor Jizi
UWRT 1102
3 February 2016
Happiness
Happiness can be defined a number of ways. It can be explained as the feeling
that one gets when they achieve their goals. It can be explained as the feeling that is the
direct opposite to sadness. I like to explain happiness by looking at its sources. Happiness
can come from a plethora of places but for me my family and friends, hobbies, and
general disposition are the main ones.
My first source of happiness is the people I care about. Everyone has at least one
person that they care about. One person that means a lot to them and I have a quite a few.
A lot of my happiness comes from spending time or even a simple phone call with my
family. My parents, grandparents, and sister, whos practically my best friend, mean the
world to me. I can say for a fact that my life wouldnt be as happy if it werent for them.
In addition to them, my two closest friends, Christine and Angel, also provide plenty of
moments filled with laughter. In general, spending time with those you love, and those
who care about and who understand you, are a great source of happiness.
My hobbies bring me happiness as well. I cannot count the hours spent playing
video games. Even when they are challenging and Im on the verge of ultimate
frustration. I still can look back on those time fondly. Fighting through the harder parts of
the game is part of the fun. I never would have thought that happiness can come from
defeating difficult game. If you ever get the chance to play a game called Shadow of the

Colossus, be prepared for a painstaking, tear inducing, hair pulling frustration. It

personally got so bad for me that I went into shock, dropped the controller, and just
silently walked away in a daze at one point. However, despite the challenge, as with most
things in life, I got back on that horse and gave it another go and defeated that colossus. It
gives you an odd sense of accomplishment. Another one of my hobbies, watching anime,
which I unfortunately have not been able to do in a while, is one of my favorite things to
do. I watch all types from the serious psychological thrillers to the whimsical slice of life
comedies. From fast paced action to fantastical adventures to dark horrors. I honestly
could write a paper on that alone. Crocheting is also a great source of happiness.
Personally, theres something about creating something from nothing but a string of yarn
that I find delightfully riveting. Ive made Pokmon plushies, 8-bit wall dcor, and other
assorted projects. The best part of crocheting, or any art form, comes from being able to
give something youve made to one of the aforementioned people which only serves to
spread happiness.
Lastly, happiness can come from a state of mind and general disposition toward
things in general. I am the type of person who can thoroughly enjoy their self. I cannot
express the amount of euphoria I can produce just from being in the presence of my own
company. The way I process things, the way I can get over excited, and all of my other
quirks that makes me me all bring me happiness. There have been times where Ill be
listening to a friend talk about whatever and theyll say something that runs through my
brain in a weird way. From their point of view, Ill randomly start assaulting them with
hard laughter for a solid five minutes. When I finally pick myself up off the ground and
wipe the tears from my eyes, regaining my composure, they have the meanest

seriously? look on their face. They may not be too keen on it but I thoroughly enjoy
when that happens. The unknown can be a provider of happiness as encountering new
experiences can be one of the better things in life. Meeting new people, doing new things,
and making new memories is always full of pleasure and surprises.
As I said, a lot of people define happiness differently as it means different things
to different people. Most refer to it as that feeling you get when youre spending time
doing something or with someone you love and care about. That feeling you get when
youre confident and secure in yourself and you can freely express yourself and explore
the world without anxiety or fear. These things all together is what happiness means to
me.

Peer Review Questions:

a.) Where can the text benefit from further detail or explanation? Where does it
need less?
b.) What does this writer do particularly well that you would like to add to your
own writing repertoire?
c.) Where in the text do you, as the reader, get confused? Point these out to the
writer.
d.) Pick out a line in the text that you think is working particularly well and share
this line with the author so that s/he may continue to write at this level.
e.) How well does the text match the three essentials of the personal essay that
were the focus of this assignment:

the personal presence of the author

an engagement between self and the world

the authors self-exploration/self-discovery

Where the text can benefit from further detail or explanation is possibly the opening
paragraph and the closing paragraph. The opening paragraph could maybe use a little
more to get the reader going, and the ending may need a little more elaborating. I dont
think this paper needs less detail or explanation because the writer does a nice job of
explaining things well enough. What this writer does that I would add to my repertoire is
using personal presence and engagement between the writer's self and the world. There is
no place in the paper that I get confused. It is very well written. A line from this paper
that I think is working very well is Lastly, happiness can come from a state of mind and
general disposition toward things in general. This line is very worded well. This writer
incorporates all three essentials to a personal essay throughout the entire paper. Overall,
this is a very thoughtful, well-written essay.

-Gabrielle Gaillard