Brianna on happiness

Vernon & Brianna following their talk on happiness.

Happiness is something that comes from within each and every one of us. I have realized since I’ve been in South Africa, that for each of us, this happiness stems from different places. I remember when at Swingers, a local jazz club, I had asked Vernon when he was most happy and his response is something that I will never forget. He told me how he is most happy when he realizes that he has aided in empowering other people. He is a mediator, therefore often he attempts to settle disputes or arguments in the community when requested and his happiness comes from when solutions are formulated by the community and they realize they have solved their own problems together as one. I couldn’t help but think how amazing his response was to my question asked. While many people when asked the same question, might respond with an answer that is very self-centered, Vernon’s response stood out to me because his happiness came from simply seeing other people’s happiness blossom. To feel empowered is a very powerful feeling that overcomes someone. What we need is more people to experience this feeling because this is how change will begin.

I look at the people I have met here, and I see how happiness is achieved and measured. I am inspired by the people who turned something they love into their career. When happiness is channeled into a career, there is a public display of one’s passion.  I have realized that this display serves as inspiration that continues to inspire and motivate others to follow a path of their choice that is needed to survive and flourish as an individual. When we are passionate about something, we excel in it and inspire others to find their own passion and happiness. Finding what we are passionate about and following that path can alone serve as a source of empowerment for other people. When I think of how passion is displayed here in South Africa, I realize that this is something that needs to be reminded of back in the United States. Often, people are pushed in directions for the wrong reasons such as money instead of following a path that they love. It is a challenge to pick a path one is passionate for if there is not enough money made in that profession, but I have realized that you don’t need money to live a fulfilled life. Happiness is not measured by money, it’s measured by moments that display our love. For each of us these moments are different, but they are equally as important and essential to live a fulfilled life.

Brianna reawakening her passion for the arts

For me, I have always had a passion for the arts. I love to sing, and singing has remained to be something that is very important to me. However, when it came time to go to college, I stopped making time for it. I thought that I was becoming an adult and that my time now had to be spent focusing on my academics and coming up with a realistic career instead of being a singer like I had always dreamed of.  I found new happiness in many areas that I was introduced to in college and I developed new passions, but I abandoned an old one as well. Since I’ve been In South Africa, I have rediscovered the importance of the arts. There seems to be many people that have jobs to make a living here, but they don’t forget about the power of the arts and therefore make room to fit this passion into their schedules. Visiting the many Jazz clubs we have and seeing people express their talents musically, really showed me that there is no reason to not bring something I love so dearly back into my life again.

Vernon told me how sometimes when he’s happiest, he will sing.  This really stuck with me because I think that singing is something that we all tend to do to express ultimate happiness. I remember reading in the slave lodge we visited how slaves were prohibited from singing. Singing…. A method used to express happiness was once treated as a privilege. Knowing this makes me have such a greater appreciation for music and the human voice. Even today after going to church, I noticed how important singing is to the community. To sing means that we are happy. Happy and celebrating the moments that bring us joy individually and as one. I have realized that singing and the arts in general is much appreciated and expressed here in South Africa, and I will always remember how powerful the arts remain to be even though back in the states we sometimes fail to realize its potential to liberate us.