"The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you HAVE, right now, regardless of the circumstance, while being the best you can be." - Leo Babauta
Everyone has their own definition of happiness, and I'm pretty sure mine has changed over the years. What is happiness to me? Well, I used to think that "being happy" meant accomplishing all of your goals. Of course that's still part of it, but I think as you get older, you start to realize all the little things that make you happy. Instead of creating this big picture for myself, I've decided to just enjoy right now. I've had this plan in my head that I would graduate by 2012, move out of my house, and have a good job to support myself. And my definition of happiness was "accomplishing all of your goals," right? Well I believe I can still do that, with just a little bit more time.
God has been so good to me. He's always there reminding me that MY LIFE IS GOOD. Despite my mistakes and failures, the people in my life remain steady. What more can I ask of Him? All I know is that I need to do more with my undergraduate career. That's why I decided to pledge for Alpha Tau Delta (ATD), the Nursing fraternity. No, I never saw myself to be part of the Greek system, but I know that ATD does a lot of community service work. I've always told myself that I need to do more, not just for myself, but for Him. So this year, I'm going to do just that. I want to embrace this journey of becoming a future RN. I think it's important to network with people who are going to support you and help you succeed. My "new life" here at the Mount has been such a life-changing experience, and I'm so excited for what the rest of the year has in store for me.
On a side note, I'm sooo happy that I got to spend my weekend in Vegas with some of LOG 2012. It's crazy to know that they're gonna be graduating next year. We've come such a long way and I love each and every single one of them. We've rolled deep since Day 1, and I'm confident that we will continue to roll deep because we're more than just friends, we're family. Yeah, we do some crazy stuff together haha, but at the same time we've all accomplished so much individually and as a group. This technically is my "last official year" in Liwanag and just thinking about it ending is bittersweet. How could I have survived these past few years without the love and support from my LOG family? They've taught me to always have hope and to see God's goodness in everything that I do. No matter how far away I am from Irvine, I feel like their love still reaches me all the way here in LA. I wish I could be there for all the LOG events this year, and if I was still at UCI I know that I'd be serving with my whole heart. But I already know that 2012 will be an amazing group of role-models and inspire everyone who walks through those doors to Interfaith. They'll be living out MY dream, because I know that we all have the same passion to bring people closer to His Light.
So, what is happiness for me now? Knowing that whatever happens, Liwanag will always bring me back to Him. And with that said, I just know that I WILL eventually reach all of my goals. No regrets, just love. Sending my love and prayers to everyone back in Irvine :)
