Is happiness a state of mind? What factors influence one's ability to achieve happiness? 

  Many people, it seems to me, have the goal of being "happy in life." When I ask individuals what they want in life, I frequently hear this. Each person's concept of happiness is different. 

  There has always been, and continues to be, a sort of societal norm and life template that we are expected to follow. Attend school, college, acquire a job, marry, have children, and then create an atmosphere that allows this cycle to continue. I'm not criticizing it in any way because I'm sure there are many advantages to living this lifestyle.Many people find happiness in this way as a result of their family and their accomplishments as a unit. But this raises the question of whether or not you require the company of others and their support in order to be happy in your life?

  In the year 2022, new notions about how to live life and preconceptions of the ideal "living" and "family structure" are starting to emerge in the United States. Do you believe that abandoning the rules that have been in place for thousands of years will allow more people to live their lives as they wish? Finding a sense of meaning in life is a difficult task. In the broad perspective of things, a human's life expectancy is roughly 72 years, but when you consider that in the grand scheme of things, it's barely a blip on the universal timeline. Finding meaning and fulfillment in your work is not an easy undertaking in such a short period of time.

   Many people seek pleasure through money and material possessions. With only 19 years of personal experience, it took me this long to realize that these things can only bring a sensation of fleeting contentment, and I'm not sure I'd call it happiness. My interactions with my friends and family, I've discovered, are what bring me to this condition of what we call happy. This is an area of my life in which I take great satisfaction since I believe I go above and beyond to ensure that these relationships last and are valuable to both parties. Even yet, I'm not sure how long this sensation will persist.

  Happiness. What does this even mean? Is it being happy with where you are career wise? Is it being happy where you are romantically? Do you find happiness through love? Is this a continuing feeling? Can you only be happy at certain moments in time? Is it through finding purpose?

  We were asked to examine a social challenge in Imitation #5, which many individuals confront today. I decided to take a fresh approach and address a subject that many of us are interested in. It's something we've been after our whole lives. In the final section, I included my views and ideas about the solution from my point of view. It allowed me to strengthen my analytical skills, and I can tell that my writing has gotten a little more professional as a result of my attempts to employ more complex vocabulary. This piece helped me to be more creative and broaden my horizons. I was able to be more open-minded and consider things without always having a firm answer, but I was able to see that some questions were asked with the intent of remaining unanswered.