While my classmates complain about being tired, I have more energy because my body is finally

getting the right macros, vitamins, and minerals it needs. This has allowed me to push myself
harder physically, excelling in running and earning my high school Cross Country team’s Most
Improved award. I’m still a picky eater. But the foods I am particular about have changed.
Rather than a carboholic, I choose to call myself a vegeholic.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE "HAPPINESS SPREADSHEET"

COLLEGE ESSAY EXAMPLE
Montage Essay, “Essence Object” Type

Meditation over a flaxen sunset with a friend and parmesan-topped spaghetti for dinner — “14.”
Assignments piling up on my desk as a high fever keeps me sick at home — “3.” Taking a photo
excursion through downtown Seattle for a Spanish project — “15.” For the past 700 days and
counting, the Happiness Spreadsheet has been my digital collection for documenting numerical,
descriptive, and graphical representations of my happiness. Its instructions are simple: Open the
Google Sheet, enter a number between 1 and 20 that best represents my level of happiness, and
write a short comment describing the day. But the practical aspect of the spreadsheet is only a
piece of what it has represented in my life.

A “14” etched on November 15, 2018, marked the first Lakeside Cooking on the Stove Club
meeting. What had started as a farcical proposition of mine transformed into a playground where
high school classmates and I convene every two weeks to prepare a savory afternoon snack for
ourselves. A few months later, a “16” scribbled on February 27, 2019, marked the completion of
a fence my Spanish class and I constructed for the dusty soccer field at a small Colombian
village. Hard-fought days of mixing cement and transporting supplies had paid off for the
affectionate community we had immediately come to love. The Happiness Spreadsheet doesn’t
only reflect my own thoughts and emotions; it is an illustration of the fulfillment I get from
gifting happiness to others.