happiness

So, what better way to spread gratitude and joy than to share with all of you what I’ve been feeling grateful for, whether it’s big or small?

Being a Berkeley student can be hard. But it's the little things that can remind us why we chose to go to Berkeley. Here’s a list of some small things I see around Berkeley that bring me joy to help you cope with another long round of midterms. 

this is the fire that poets speak about / that romantics write about, singers sing about, artists paint about, bohemians explore / the fire, the burn that I feel for you.

I am growing / and so are you / at least we know this one thing.

Only recently have I registered how carefully I hold joy in my hands, clutching it, eyeing it, cautiously awaiting its disintegration. 

The album ultimately fails to master the campy, glamorous embodiment of true disco, and its struggle to adhere to one sound begins to grate on the ears.

At the same time, that day-to-day is what you feel, what affects your state of mind most. It’s what will weigh you down or lift you up on your walks to campus. And reaching a better state of mind can be a good first step in reaching those larger goals.

Still, the journey to joy is riddled with obstacles and illusions. Happiness is subjective to time, identity and experience. Though my current perception of happiness will surely change in the future, I know there will forever remain sources I cannot outgrow.

We are so used to this pressured desire to be happy that we don’t realize how we often view our negative emotions as invalid, shameful or wrong. 

As we head into finals, we all need a little pick-me-up. And you’re probably procrastinating on studying by scrolling endlessly on TikTok anyway.