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Jay Williams

Mrs. Davis

Comp II

21 April 2020

How I Discovered My Own Happiness

Always thinking on the positive side has gotten me through most of my problems

growing up in a chaotic family. When I was a young child my family was super happy, and we

all thought highly of our family. A couple of years down the road my father developed a drinking

problem after his dad passed away. This drinking problem created issues within our family and it

even took my parents away from each other, resulting in a divorce. I was devastated, and I did

not want to see my mom or my dad. I then started to look up to my older cousin. I even

developed my own drinking problem by the age of 13 due to my older cousin’s influence. I was

later brought to light by God. I looked to the brighter sides of life and realized that even though

they were married for 19 years, my parents were happier without each other.

Optimism has been the key to my happiness since my parents have separated. Having the

capability to always see a brighter side of a bad situation has been one of the best traits about

myself since I discovered it. The ability to open my eyes to see the light is the motivation I need

to move past rough situations when I am placed in one. Another reason I can see the light at the

end of the tunnel is that I specifically try to stay as positive as possible. For me personally, it is

easier to move past something and stay positive rather than being upset or mad about something

for an extended amount of time. Frequently, I have friends who have me to lean on to talk with

them about their problems. I allow them to have me as a support system to help show them the
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light at the end of the tunnel and to help them see the positive side. I also have the capability to

tell them some of my stories to show them that bright sides do exist, and it is not the end of the

world.

Around the age of 13, I had been introduced to pot and alcohol by some of my older

cousins. At the time I was in a dark area because of my parents’ divorce. I was vulnerable and I

gave in to these drugs. I allowed drugs to run my life for almost a year. I would like to think the

reason behind it is that my parents had a divorce and I wanted to look up to someone else. My

older brother had moved out around that time. He moved an hour away to Oklahoma City; I did

not have much communication with him either. I started looking up to my older cousin and got

involved with the wrong things at the wrong time. The worst part about the situation is that I

knew addiction was in my family, but I was at a point in my life where I decided I didn’t care

anymore. I was also in counseling a couple of years prior, and I knew drugs were a terrible

coping mechanism. It really was not a bright area in my life, and I didn’t know where it would

lead to. I was almost 15 when I was done being irresponsible and decided to move on to bigger

and better motives. My life turned upside down and I saw the light

In the summer of 2016, my mom sent me to a church camp called Youth America. I did

not really want to go in the beginning. After a couple of days past, I started making new friends

and I started to feel connected with the world again. I was going to church services 3 times a day

for 7 days straight. I started to tune in and became extremely close to God. He has shown me the

light. God gave me a way out to escape from my bad influencers and to become my own person.

Church camp turned my life into something completely new and has truly shown me that even

though it seems bad, someone has it worse. This example has taught me to look at the brighter
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sides to every situation. God also gave me a sneak peek at my future girlfriend at this church

camp. We started talking later in the year and have been together since December 2016. Her

name is Amilie (pronounced Emily). She is one of the best things that has happened to me, and

she also helps motivate me to be a better person. The mixture of God and Amilie has truly

changed who I am for the better and how I see the world. This church camp had a huge impact

on my life and has shown me a principle that I will never forget.

In conclusion, I am extremely thankful for the life I have and for how I have changed for

the better. My future has completely changed ever since I went to this church camp. Ever since

then, I’ve been able to pick up bad problems and look at the brighter side to make a better day

out of it. This journey continues until the end of time, and I pray I can always have a mass

amount of positivity to brighten everyone’s day. ​Looking at the brighter sides of rough times

helps people get through and progress to the better of themselves. This I believe.