A Happy Life Is A Good Life

I absolutely loved school! When I was in elementary school, I just enjoyed every aspect of school and woke up really early every morning just to make sure that I got on the bus. I also enjoyed my time in high school because of all of the wonderful opportunities it provided to me. No matter what was available to me in school, I was part of it. School came pretty easy to me. I enjoyed going to classes and looked forward to learning something new each day. I liked getting to know my classmates and making friends. I also absolutely loved getting involved in extracurricular activities, especially when I was with my friends. As I came to college, things got a little tougher.

College definitely brought a new struggle for me, especially when it came to classes. The past few days have reminded me of my high school days. Since I’m enrolled in a Money and Banking course, I realized once again how much harder colleges is. I took probably one of the hardest tests in my life and received a subpar grade. I had always done well on my tests in school but looking at this grade on my computer was difficult for me. This grade made me realize something interesting; maybe Money and Banking is a weakness of mine?

This brings up an intriguing philosophy that we continually learn about. Many of us have heard someone say how we need to change our weaknesses into a strength. My team and I had a unique experience to go to Land O’ Lakes and visit with Paul Hansen about leadership development. One thing he pointed out was this philosophy about changing our weaknesses into strengths. He shared the philosophy from Strengths Finder, “It is not about focusing on our weaknesses; it is focusing on our strengths and excelling in our strengths.” What he said stuck with me and makes me think about how I have lived my life.

For many years, we have always been told to focus on our weaknesses, when in reality, we should be focusing on our strengths. For example, in school, our parents always wanted us to work on the classes where we had the lowest grade, rather than excel in those where we have the highest grade. For instance, I could be down about Money and Banking for which I received a bad grade on my test, or I could be excited for my Digital Media class and all of possibilities it offered for my future career . Of course, I know I still need to pass my classes to graduate, what if I also take some classes to strengthen what I am good at? We need to stop thinking about what we are bad at, and focus on what we are good at. Life is going to be so boring if we are always trying to focus on things that we may not like as much. A life of happiness is doing something you love. When you love something, you excel at it. When you enjoy something, it is commonly a strength. Therefore, when you focus on your strengths, you love what you are doing and are fulfilling a life of happiness. This is why I want you to go out and find those things you enjoy most. Focus on what you love. Be happy doing something that you like. Find the things and people in life that bring you joy and happiness, because a happy life is a good life!


Stationed by the Door,