Happiness Shrinks and Grows
Huffington Post’s David Sze describes in his article a psychological study of the different cultural perceptions of happiness between American Caucasian and Taiwanese students. In the study, psychologists Luo Lu and Robin Gilmour had interviewed a sample of these students and found similarities with some noted differences in perception, but the difference that stood out to me was–
“For Americans, autonomy is ideally complete personal freedom to fulfill your potential and become your authentic self. For the Chinese, personal actions and choices must be governed by morality, and a meaningful life is a virtuous life.”
-David Sze (website)
I was reminded of my own family, even though I was not Taiwanese. My parents were education-gurus half of the time, focusing on college admissions and the numbers. The other half was indirectly teaching me and my brother to be good people first, focusing on family and practicality (read as frugality).
Growing up, happiness was never spoken of alone–it came in conjunction with education and financial stability. Almost every conversation with my mother would end up in a discussion of education or self improvement. That is not necessarily a bad thing, until you realize that American households probably had more conversations about movies or passions. I wouldn’t know how true that statement is.
But unlike the stereotype, my parents encouraged my assimilation into American culture. My mother expected me to be bolder, to get invited to friends’ parties (irony), to make friends, to be “American.” And in the future, she hopes the life I live will be comfortable, and that my bank account will never risk being in the red. This American Dream of independent success matured me, yet part of my happiness remains tied to my family even after graduation. It is selfishness tied to selflessness, but to say I was selfless feels arrogant because taking care of family is expected, not above the call of duty.
Happiness is not stagnant. It may have been higher in my childhood years before the education craze, but being free from high school marks a new future. “A meaningful life,” as Sze wrote, is derived from virtue. Consequently, my happiness is derived from my past decisions and my future ones.
Speaking of graduation…these are the most
FAQ of a Post-High School Student–
1. How does it feel to have graduated high school?
Not much different, seeing as I was manhandled volunteered to paint a mural in the guidance department and I still have teachers to see before the school year officially ends this Thursday.
2. Where are you headed?
The nerdiest, coolest school in Cambridge, MA. And before you ask about my major, I’m going there to study…something. I tell everyone chemical engineering because it is an easy answer to a complicated question. Lately, I have been looking into being a physics major but there is no way to tell until I start meeting more people.
3. Can you help me get into Colleges X, Y, or Z? or What did you do to get accepted?
Do stuff that matters to you and makes your life meaningful. Read Cal Newport, who is fantastic. I like helping people, so if you are stuck, shoot me an email (ivyli099 [at] gmail [dot] com). I offered a few rising seniors at my school some help and to give feedback on their college essays (not editing them myself because that is ethically wrong).
4. What are your career plans?
See #2.
5. Why do all the stick figures have top hats/bowler hats?
Wix Games created the greatest game of all time (to the middle school me) known as DuckLife in which your farm was demolished by a random tornado and you raise ducks to win duck races. One of the final clothing options for said ducks are bowler hats.
I liked bowler hats.
So I drew them on my bird doodles and my stick figure doodles. Sometimes I screw up intentionally (or unintentionally) and they turn out to be top hats.
6. Did you lay on a patch of grass after graduating?
Yes, did you really need to ask?
The Doodler Process 