Hop on Happiness!

One of the gifted emotions of humankind is happiness, and how wonderful it is to have a day dedicated to celebrating it. The U.N. declared 20 March as the International Day of Happiness to highlight the importance of happiness in life. And what better way to celebrate than to listen to teenagers across the nation sharing their thoughts and their source of happiness on this special day.

Happiness is what you, like Goldilocks, can find halfway between too little and too much. Happiness is the juxtaposition of perfection and imperfection. It’s when you embrace the perfection of the imperfect world. Happiness is serendipitous like a butterfly. You are not always going to be happy but when you’re not, you know you will be. Happiness is you and those around you. Happiness is when you smile because you’ve made someone else smile.
I listen to Bollywood music with my dad on the way to school in the mornings. I tell my mom about my day when I get home. I watch Young Sheldon with my sister. I make birthday cards for my brother-in-law and his family. I read books till late into the night on the weekends and talk about them with my friends during recess in school. I also write. All this makes me happy.
Manjiri Manjunath Pai Dukle (16)
Presentation Convent Hr Sec School, Aquem-Margao, Goa

Happiness is the feeling that we experience when we do the things we like and enjoy the most. It makes us joyful and brings a smile to our faces, and also makes others smile as it is contagious. Happiness is eating your favourite food, playing games and having fun.
I enjoy spending time with my family, my younger brother, my friends, my uncles and my parents and grandparents. I love watching cartoons or shows which make me laugh. I enjoy being creative and sketching, drawing or creating things, which makes me happy.
Shaurya Chinar Sonawane (13)
Orchids The International School, Vikhroli, Mumbai

Being happy is a state where your soul is fully enjoying the surrounding. Happiness is being in the present and it helps me improve my working and studying capacity, thus effecting my productivity. When I am happy, my approach towards others is very pleasant and I enjoy the conversations. The feeling of happiness is good as we meet more people and make more friends; it plays a significant role in enhancing our personality.
For me, happiness is being stress-free. Listening to music makes me happy, and I enjoy my time not just listening to but playing the Casio and learning other instruments. Happiness is also felt when I spend good times with friends and have long conversations, most of which are silly things that crack us up, and we end up laughing a lot.
Kartik Akash Shirode (17)
Kota, Rajasthan

Happiness is a state when I am under no pressure and I get to enjoy whatever I want and not have my mind worrying about certain things. Sometimes when I am with my friends or family and have a gala time, I enter this state of super happiness and forget about my problems.
I do whatever I like when I am happy, sometimes taking a break from my studies or watching a favourite movie. Being with my family or friends makes me very happy, especially when they crack jokes. I like listening to music at the start of the day which puts me in a happy mood and makes my day a happy one.
Annsh Shailesh Amin (16)
Vibgyor High School, Airoli, Mumbai

Happiness is a feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can’t help but smile. It is a sense of well-being, joy or contentment. When people are successful, safe, lucky or excited, they experience happiness.
I reduce my stress by watching videos and learning time-management techniques that help me calm down and be happy. I enjoy myself with my family. I involve myself in activities to boost my self-esteem. One of the best ways I stay happy is by talking and sharing with my loved ones. I enjoy reading books and learning new things and sharing whatever I learn with my friends.
Basundhara Mohanty (18)
MPC Baripada, Odisha

My happiness lies is in spending time with my parents and friends. Whenever I want to achieve something, I put in all my effort and time, and when it turns to success, I feel very happy and that gives me peace. It encourages me to do more things and do them in the best way possible.
One of the activities that make me the happiest is when I do my favourite things, i.e., drawing anything of my choice freely. I enjoy sketching. I like writing poetry on anything happening around me. I enjoy dancing with my sister and it makes me happy when we are together.
Drishti Prashant Kudekar (14)
Shetkari Shikshan Sanstha English Med. School, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai

Happiness is what you feel when comfortable or good about doing anything that is of your interest. To receive what you expect is happiness. I feel happy when I learn new things in life and get motivated. Only you can make yourself happy, and I want to make myself happy with my hard work, passion, and achieving what I want to be.
Happiness to me is following a good, healthy lifestyle. I think a lot and so I end up using my time to share my thoughts. I enjoy spending time reading and watching videos so I can get to know more about what is happening around the world. I love engaging in sports and enjoy playing different games with my friends.
Prathamesh Pandit (17)
GPS, Paldhi, Jalgaon

Happiness is a kind of feeling that we find in our loved ones, our surroundings, and within ourselves. For me, happiness is that feeling I find and experience every day and in everything. Though sometimes it is hard to find, there is always something which makes us happy. Happiness is very important in our lives; without it, we wouldn’t know what is joy and kindness.
To make myself happy, I love watching comedies; my parents introduced me to old classic movies, and I enjoy watching them. Music makes me very happy. I like reading books; I enjoy chatting and talking with my friends. Meeting and interacting with new people makes me happy. Also, I love spending time with hobbies like drawing and painting.
Alaria Saldhana (14)
Convent of Jesus & Mary School & Jr College, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai

Happiness is a feeling of well-being and joy. I want to achieve great success in my studies and make my parents and teachers proud. My parents have many dreams regarding my future, and I would like to fulfil all of those and make them and myself happy.
To make myself happy I listen to music. I spend a good time with my friends. I wish to become a footballer; I watch matches, read about footballers, and go for regular practice. And when I win football matches that makes me very happy. I dream of becoming a successful footballer and getting good grades.
Dwayne Daniel (16)
Fr Agnels Multipurpose School, Vashi, Navi Mumbai

Happiness means having fun and enjoying time with my family. I experience happiness when my mother is happy with my academics and achievements. Being around my family and friends is a happy feeling for me. I feel happy when I get gifts from my loved ones.
To make myself happy, I spend a lot of time with my mother as I am very close to her. Being with my grandparents also makes me very happy. I love trying different types of delicious food made by my mother. I enjoy watching movies and playing games with my friends. I love playing football and I enjoy going for practice. It makes me happy when I get chances to be in competitions and when my team wins.
Naman Rathee (13)
Amity International School, Gurugram, Delhi

Happiness to me is a feeling that makes me comfortable with whatever I wish to do. It makes me feel glad when what I dream of is fulfilled. Happiness is to be in your safety zone which can be your room or spending time with your best friend, parents or siblings. Happiness is what you experience when you do what you love the most.
To make myself happy, I just open Spotify and listen to my playlist according to my mood and taste (basically K-pop is in every playlist), or I just talk to my friends, we share and spend time together, or I like to read a book of my genre which is a murder mystery, or watch K-drama or variety shows of K-pop idols I adore (the one I can prefer anytime). I am happy when I get to listen to my favourite idol; that’s true happiness to me.
Niyati Mittal (14)
Modern Convent School, Delhi

Music can sometimes be a great escape from reality and it gives me a lot of happiness as every song has some memory attached to it. Every lyric reminds me of something and someone which makes me happy. I love my dog; he is the most beautiful gift that happened to me. Spending time him makes me forget everything and the connection we share makes me most happy. I look at the sunset; it makes me feel good. These are the three simple things I do to make myself happy.
Jayanti Tiwari (14)
St Arnold’s Central School, Pune

Happiness is that feeling you experience when you know everything in your surrounding is good. To be able to do what you like, such as working on your hobbies and living your life to the full, gives you joy. Happiness is in spending time with friends and exploring different places and food.
Spending time with my family makes me very happy. We laugh and enjoy talking and sharing small funny things; after all, happiness lies in small things. I also talk a lot with my friends after my hectic schedule of studies. I play the guitar to cheer myself up or play video games. One of my favourite activities that make me happy is going cycling while listening to my playlist of songs on my headphone.
Chirayu Jain (17)
Apeejay School, Nerul, Navi Mumbai

When one’s actions reflect one’s principles, one is happy. I appreciate the time I get to spend with my family. When I share my resources with my family, it makes me happy. Engaging in sports and other extra-curricular activities improves my health and happiness. Knowing and valuing what we receive in our life are essential components of life; it is made up of many interconnected pleasant moments.
My life revolves around books since I’m a law student. Watching court procedures in a courtroom makes me joyful. I also value the discussions I have with my mother who is a lawyer and with my father. Having fun with my sister and spending quality time with family adds to my happiness.
Mihir Linge (19)
Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad

Albert Einstein said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” It was so good to see most of the teenagers finding happiness in hobbies, talking with friends, spending time with family, and experiencing happiness in the smallest of the things present in their surroundings. But one of the most important things to be happy about is the gift of life, and to be grateful for each day. Look in the mirror every day with gratitude for your life, as you are the real reason for your happiness.