How do we define happiness? An emotional state free of pain? A feeling of fulfillment? Whether it’s having a new house, making an A in an exam, or having a raise, there are different things that make a person happy. Some people might have different standards of happiness; one thing might make a person happy, but to some people, it might not be their source of happiness. For instance, a twelve year-old’s toy wouldn’t make an adult happy. Zoom out of the picture for a while, and let’s think less specific. What are the three elements that truly make most of us humans happy?

1- Something to Do- I’m not just talking about doing just anything we could think of; but doing what we really love doing; our passions. Our actions define us. Just like what Rachel Dawes told Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins: “But it’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you”. Follow your heart, and most likely, you’ll succeed at what you do, because your passion will drive you to work harder, and become better in your field. Like Nike’s famous words: “Just do it!”.

2- Something to Hope For- People have different hopes; we believe that each of us could attain a better goal. Many of us believe the American Dream -that everyone has an equal opportunity to have a richer and happier life than what we currently have despite of socio-economic status. Some of us look forward to our dreams, what we would want to become, and the thought of that gives us a sense of joy deep inside. Because of hope, we are able to go on, move towards the future we want.

3- Someone to Love- In the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Adam, the first person who was said to be created by God, has everything that he needed: a beautiful garden with animals and rich fruits, but he wasn’t content. There was no one to share the beauty of nature with. That’s why God had created Eve, and Adam was happy. Many of us wander and work in this world not just because of our selfish needs, but because we also care about our loved ones. We want to succeed, to become important, and to become the person who’s fit to be one’s company, but what really drives it? Our love? Or lust? Whatever it is, whether it’s being with friends and family, a loved one, or just many people, having someone or something to live for would make us happy.