Napolitano 1 Nicole Napolitano Professor Susan Lago English 1100 College Writing 25 September 2013 The Necessity of Sadness

s October 29th 2012. There was a storm coming by the looks of the leaves turning. I laid under the warm covers with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and the iO television remote in the other. I was prepared. The rustling of the autumn leaves from the wind sent me into pure relaxation. The next morning there was a feeling that something was wrong. Immediately, I felt anxious, uneasy and even a little shaky. I turned on the television and flipped to Channel 12. Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast destroying everything in its path. Pure chaos. Everyone in life deals with different emotions due to the cause and effect of certain situations. In many cases, emotions can come as unexpected. At any moment happiness and sadness can strike. Hurricane Sandy put the East Coast through misery. The storm caused the community to rise as one and restore the shore. After millions of community service hours, blood, sweat, and tears, the shore was becoming its original self again. Hurricane Sandy caused this community to reach rock bottom but after hitting the bottom theres nowhere else to go but up from there. Sadness is essential in order to make an individual stronger. I took the Authentic Happiness Test and proudly achieved a 3.29. My life is a rollercoaster of continuous highs and lows. When my life becomes tough I hit rock bottom in most situations. Over the past year I lost contact with most of my family due to various reasons. The emotional state of my mind was indescribable. Eventually the situation became a realization that it is all a part of life. We are

Napolitano 2 meant to go through these points in order to reassure ourselves of the inner strength that each individual carries. After taking the Authentic Happiness Test, a question arises. What is happiness? The essay In Pursuit of Happiness, written by Mark Kingwell, illustrates a well-balanced point. Some people make it their destiny to find the definition of true happiness. It seems as though happiness is one of those bottomless subjects that is limitless in meaning. It reflects into every individual differently. As science proves, no two people can be the same. The diverse population is the reason why there can never be a specific answer to what is happiness. Its beholder can only define true happiness. Digging deeper into the subject of happiness can only lead to bad outcomes. Senior wrote in her essay, Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness, about a man named Philip Brickman. Brickmans studies focused on the basic questions what is happiness? and what does it take to achieve it? At the age of thirty-eight he jumped off the tallest building in Ann Arbor. Senior writes, There is an untold distance between knowing happiness and knowing about it. And sometimes, to our blinking incomprehension, that distance can only be measured in the space between this life and the next (Senior 428). Brickman consumed most of his life on happiness. He put so much attention into this idea that he was able to overcome that invisible line that happiness draws. His suicide inquires that happiness leads to darkness. Happiness and sadness go hand-in-hand. In science, opposites attract as well as happiness and sadness. These emotions balance each other out. Most people when asked if they would choose either happiness or sadness they would choose happiness. With choosing that, they are unknowingly also choosing sadness. Without one the other would not exist. Happiness wouldnt have the effect it does on human beings without sadness and sadness wouldnt have the effect without happiness.

Napolitano 2 These emotions affect everyone mentally, emotionally, and physically. Many times there are case studies that reveal answers to ideas that would never be thought of as true. Senior states a prime example, Yet every bit of data says children are an extreme source of negative, a mild source of negative affect, or none at all. Its hard to find a study where theres one net positive (Senior 426). When children are born their brain is a blank slate. Its the parents job to teach the children right from wrong. In many cases there will be disciplinary action needed in order to formulate the necessary morals of life. Senior explains, Apparently, we define and remember our experiences by their highs, lows, and how they end (Senior 425). At the maturing age, parents are more likely to become alarmed when children dont do the right thing. This leads to a bad ending, which reflects when we remember past experiences. The time children mature into adults is when parents realize their hard work has paid off and their happiness is restored to them. Just like the children case study, another was done with traumatic results. Senior exclaims, Yet people in the happiest countries are more likely to kill themselves (Senior 426). There is two possible ways to look at this. Are these people truly happy? In this day in age, many individuals allegedly claim they are happy but in many situations like this, they are lying. When the person tells himself or herself they are happy, eventually it will lead to them believing they are happy; blinded by reality. Psychologically changing their mindset temporarily obscures the truth. But there is a positive side to this; by being jubilant it accounts for others happiness. Another way to decipher this idea is that peoples happiness leads to greater sadness of others. Take a look at celebrities for example. These individuals spend millions of dollars on clothes, cars, houses, accessories, and electronics when some struggle to even afford basic necessities like food. We envy the riches when in reality they are not much happier then normal people. Money may not be an issue but the judgmental side of society is.

Napolitano 2 We go through normal times in life being content. When sadness strikes there is no saying when it will surpass but when true happiness arises, it is gone in a moment. Why even look for the happiness if its displaced so quickly? The answer to this question is because that moment of happiness is one of the most precious moments in life. We spend countless days going through a cycle to reach true happiness and when it emerges; grasp every millisecond because those moments is what will build to the next moment of happiness. Sadness is essential in order to make an individual stronger. This emotion shapes each and every person in his or her own unique way. Sadness is the foundation of happiness. There will always be hardships in life that may not always be easy to overcome but with the right mindset there is good outcomes. When the feeling of sadness arises, empower the emotion, and take charge. Sadness is the start of something new and an eye-opener to unfamiliar ideas. Suffering is a part of us. There is no escape from the rough times. Its bittersweet meaning it was brought on by unhappy experiences but at the same time it resurfaces those memorable times in life. When one door of happiness closes, another one will open as long as the individual doesnt become lost in the journey of sadness. There is a possibility that life is not all about searching, reaching, accomplishing, and repeating. Sadness may have answers that no one has even thought about.

Napolitano 2 Behrens, Laurence. Writing and Reading Across The Curriculum. 12th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Kingwell, Mark. In Pursuit of Happiness. 413-416. Senior, Jennifer. Some Dark Thoughts of Happiness. 422-431.