Unit 7, Happiness Essay

Happiness

Shellie Hirchert

February 23, 2012

HU 300: Art and Humanities

For my first interview, I have chosen my Grandmother, Helen Hargraves. She was born a very poor country girl in the hills of Pennington Gap, Virginia. Her father was a coal miner, and her mother died in a car accident when she was very young. She is one of seven children, three girls and four boys. She lost her first husband in Vietnam, and her second husband was eventually institutionalized, where he passed on due to a mental illness. She endured many struggles in her young life, being left to raise four young children on her own, in a time that women were not commonly viewed as breadwinners. Along with one of her brothers and his family, she made the move from Virginia to Indiana to pursue work. She is an inspiration of the “American Dream” in my family, and is the rock of the morals our family has come to live by. God, Country, Family.

Q & A

What is your definition of happiness: “Seeing my family happy makes me the happiest. I hate to see anyone struggle, especially my kids. That’s the reason I worked so hard, to make sure they all were able to have jobs and succeed in life.”

What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?: “Taking my troubles to the Lord in prayer. If you pray, really pray and ask for a burden to be lifted, the Lord will bring peace in your heart on that burden. He may not always handle the burden as you see fit, but prayer will bring you the peace you need to handle it.”

What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?: “Happiness is what you make of it. Dwelling on things will bring you down. “

Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?: “When I was younger, I always looked for happiness in a mate. I thought that I had to have a husband to be happy and have a proper family. After years of losing husbands, and running off boyfriends, I...