EDITOR’S NOTE: Are You Happy?
By Dania Akkawi
Editor-in-Chief
Of all the themes The Caravan team ever chose for the special issue, I’ve come to the conclusion that this must be the most ironic choice yet: happiness. This is not to say that we are unhappy people, it’s just that we are generally overworked and often too busy to actually do things that make us happy.
Having read over 60 articles on happiness across both English and Arabic before narrowing it down to what made it into the issue, I found myself pressed to associate with the topics. But to no avail. Lately, I’ve been somewhere in between – a grey area where I am both happy and unhappy.
I think I expected that by working extensively on these articles, I’d find how to be happy. For the past two weeks, I’ve legitimately had tabs with the articles I need to edit for this issue and endless job applications right next to them.
I think I’ve finally accepted that it’s time to be part of the real world and leave the bubble and comfort that this university provides. At this point what I am most worried about is becoming a 9-to-5 (probably longer than 5) person who does nothing but work but also hates their job relentlessly.
Take a look around you, most Egyptian citizens are not happy – or at least, they are not smiling. So, I assume they must be unhappy. I don’t smile much either but my reasons are trivial compared to those without food or shelter. So, of course, I can’t speak for everyone because by default, at different socioeconomic levels people will be unhappy for different reasons. It’s a matter of different priorities, needs and wants.
Does Egypt need a Ministry of Happiness?
Although I would not normally address one specific article and single it out among others, the article below tackled a topic that was rather interesting to me.
I lived in the UAE for 18 years and while they have a Ministry of Happiness, I don’t believe it is something every country can resort to. And even though I don’t like sharing my political opinions, I do believe there is happiness in Egypt despite the many issues expressed in the article below.
Yes, much of the country is on or below the poverty line. Yes, basic needs are not being met in many areas of this society. And yes, there isn’t a single person I know who wouldn’t want to get on the first plane out of the country.
However, institutionalizing and departmentalizing happiness means we are relying on outside sources for internal happiness. A common theme across all the articles in this issue is that there is an object, person, sport, food, books, etc… that serves as a source of happiness.In theory, an entity in charge of spreading happiness across an entire state may sound appealing, however it need not work in developing countries. Perhaps in states that are already economically developed where all citizens have easy access to their basic needs, a ministry of happiness would be an interesting addition.
But in a state where basic needs are not always met in certain socioeconomic areas, a ministry of happiness could quickly be viewed as nothing more than a publicity stunt. Moreover, the average citizen is prone to being skeptical of how government money is being used if it’s not being put into society’s basic needs. Does happiness count as a basic need? With that in mind, the creation of a ministry of happiness may not be the best way to solve the situation at hand.
Keeping aside political instability that could easily create a major setback bringing the country back to square one, Egypt is slowly working toward a developed economy by progressing in the tourism sector, the renewable energy sector, education and so on.
Inevitably, as the country develops, people will have more opportunities to improve their own lifestyles thus creating an increase in the state’s happiness level.
But let’s take things a step back and look at happiness from a more personalized, individual level.
“Are you okay?”
Oftentimes, we find ourselves in a situation where someone asks “hey, are you okay?” The immediate response most of us give is “yes, I’m fine.” A lot of times, absolutely nothing is fine. Much like in the article “If Everyone Thinks I’m Happy, Then It Must Be True,” I do often pretend to be happy.
And I don’t think this is completely unhealthy. My intention is usually to spare the person, usually my best friends, from an hour-long rant. Sometimes, it is best to put a smile on your face and go about your day as though everything is fine. You start to believe that it’s okay and sometimes, your mood changes with it too.
This ties into the article on the science behind happiness. Initially, we started working on this article with the intention that we’d find ‘the recipe’ or ‘equation’ for happiness. Long story short, we didn’t. I am pretty sure this isn’t information that exists either but I’d like to believe the equation includes comfort.
Lately, I’ve been trying to accept that these are the last few days on campus and while I want more than anything to leave and be magically done with all my assignments, I am also already nostalgic to everything I am leaving behind.
In “When Was the Last Time You Felt Happy,” we looked into the pros and cons of being nostalgic to ‘better days’. While I do believe that university is the best phase of life, I don’t want to be the person who misses it all the time. I am going to miss the newsroom and every part of The Caravan but I want to move on and quite honestly, I don’t want to live in the past just because it’s comfortable.
While it’s healthy to be reminded of a happy time in the past, it’s important to want to feel and experience different things. And on that note…
Someone, Anyone… Please Hire Me
Very seriously, I don’t know anyone happy at work. I know a lot of people who talk about how much they hate their jobs for the sake of comic relief so at least there is that. Perhaps, the best part of the work is monetary reward but at the same time, you can’t possibly spend eight hours a day in a toxic work environment.
As expressed in both the article tackling monetary rewards and workplace environments, I find that the only way to produce quality work is by actually being happy at your job.
It’s difficult to compare student-run entities on campus to real-life jobs but according to recent graduates, they’ve had happier times working on planning concerts or organizing student strikes than at their white collar jobs.
At this point and probably because I am graduating, I think it’s necessary to acknowledge that the campus is a source of happiness in so many ways. Whether it’s through our friends, professors, clubs, the gardens, the gym or people we don’t know who leave random origami pieces for the pure sake of making someone smile, the campus is special in so many ways.
Almost everyone I know has a special spot on campus. For me, it’s obviously the newsroom but it’s also the people in it that make it all the more special.
The redhead with the best opinion editorials, the one with the best laugh, the one who bakes the best cookies, the one we constantly pick one for fun, the one who’s had my back far before The Caravan even came into our lives and the one who turned the entire Journalism and Mass Communication department around… you know yourselves.
This circle is a lot bigger and wouldn’t be complete without the social media queen and top video producer who literally taught me what multimedia is. This is also not to say that the editors are any less. This semester, I’ve had editors who worked in several roles at once and editors who aren’t even journalism majors but ended up becoming the most reliable people.
It goes without saying that none of what I am feeling right now would even exist if it wasn’t for the faculty advisor, Firas Al Atraqchi, and Arabic advisor Rasha Allam. I can’t say I didn’t go through phases where I felt like I’d rather quit and/or run away but I am glad I didn’t. A year ago, there was no way I’d have thought working at any position in the newsroom would ever be a top priority. Now, and because of how much they believed in me, leaving is bittersweet.
At the same time, it’s about time to experience something new and find a new source of happiness to to pursue.
