By Julian Rios
Life Can Be Tough,
Whether it's school, family, work or financial problems there will always be something in life that stresses you out. That's why it's extremely important to have things that make you happy. If you don't have a hobby to look forward to or someone that makes you happy, life can pile up on you and you can even become depressed. To avoid this figure out what makes you happy, invest your time into those activities and learn to appreciate those aspects of your life.
Finding Your Happiness
For me the five things that make me appreciate life are family, friends, sports, video games and exercise. I've gone into more detail below. If one of them aligns with you, I encourage you to invest more time in that area to support you with being a more happy person in life.
Friends
My friends are the sole reason that I've made it through highschool. Highschool can be very stress inducing and make you feel like your chest is caving in. It's always better to do something together with friends rather than alone as it makes it easier to get things done and makes it feel less like work and more like hanging out. After a long week of doing work for school you need something to relax and chill, that's why me and my friends usually go to the park together and just hang out for hours. It's good to have something to look forward to at the end of the week, it motivates me to keep pushing forward every day.
Sports
Sports is and has been a big part of my life ever since I was a kid. I started playing football when I was 8 years old and have continued playing in highschool. I have been playing quarterback and have loved being the center of the offense and leading my team to victories. Since I love football I watch every single NFL game and am a Seattle Seahawks fan. Other than football I used to play baseball up until highschool because I couldn't do both at the same time, I chose football. Also on the weekends when hanging out with my friends we love to play the fun sport known as spikeball together and I've become very good at it. Sports are some of the best ways to entertain yourself and relax and are a necessity in my life.
Virtual Options
When I'm not hanging out with my friends, or family there's a good chance that I'm hanging out with them virtually while playing video games. I've been playing videogames with my brothers ever since I can remember and has continued to be one of my favorite hobbies to pass the time. Since I play video games so frequently I have become very good at them and play pretty competitively. Playing good makes me happy, it's a lot of fun to win a game because you are more skilled than your opponent. I'm a very competitive person which is why I love playing sports and videogames at a high level, I love the thrill of beating your enemy and playing as a team.
Some Form of Exercise
Everyone on this planet needs a form of exercise to keep their bodies and their minds healthy. You only get one body and you need to take care of your body by either doing very active hobbies like sports or like me you do both and go to the gym every day to better yourself. Exercising is great for your body keeping you healthy but people underestimate how good it is for your mental state. When you go for a run after you feel great for the rest of the day you feel like you accomplished something and it's a great spirit booster. A lot of people that are depressed only clear their minds of sad thoughts through running because although your heart is beating at a much higher rate it is peaceful and calms the mind. I love being absolutely destroyed after hitting the gym on leg day and barely being able to walk because although I can barely move anymore I feel amazing like I've accomplished a whole lot. Exercise makes me very happy and I will continue to do so for as long as I possibly can.
Family
Probably the most important thing in a person's life is always gonna be family and that's the same for me. My family are one of the only people in my life that I can count on and know for a fact will always have my back no matter what through thick and thin. My family loves me unconditionally. It doesn't matter what I do. I know at the end of the day my family loves me and cares for me deeply as much as I love them back. Whenever I'm going through tough times and am feeling down I can always count on my mom and dad to cheer me up and know that my brothers have my back and are looking in my best interest. Apart from playing my family role we are also very good friends always cracking jokes with each other and being honest with one another and I don't know what I would do without them.
While these are my five things, I encourage you to look at what makes you happy. When you do this, it makes the tough times easier. Know that this list can change, as well as the specific items within them as life is a growth process. Why not start your list now? Drop a comment below with at least one thing that makes you happy!