humanities
Truth of Happiness Project
We started out the Happiness project with reading multiple different articles, watching many movies/videos, and reading the book "Brave New World." Throughout the project, we looked into different people perspectives on happiness and what can make someone happy. We created annotated bibliography's with at least four different sources that talked about the use of technology compared to happiness, and how technology can make people happier and more unhappy. As a class we had a structured academic controversy (SAC). Our prompt was, does technology increase happiness? Then we all had to put together an experiment that we would do and blog about for a week. My experiment was getting up in the mornings and getting ready with enough time to not have to run to the bus. At the beginning I took the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and my score was, 2 out of 6. At the end of the week I took the same survey to see if my overall happiness level increased. With a score of 4 out of 6, I found that it did increase. The final product of this project was our happiness movies. We were able to pick our groups, as well as the topic we wanted to focus on in our movie. My group and I were interested on focusing more on the idea of music and how it can make people happy. Because music is a HUGE part of our everyday lives we decided to make our documentary on music. We did a little more research on this topic and found lots of interesting facts. We connected the concepts of the movie Happy, the book Brave New World, and other research we have conducted before into our movie.
Project Reflection
What have you discovered your truth of happiness is?
During this project I realized that my form of happiness comes from playing music, being with animals, being crafty and being with my friends. Those are all things I love to do and they bring me lots of happiness. I have found that whenever I am having a hard time I will always turn to music and my animals and they will always cheer me up no matter what the circumstances. I always like to say that music is there when all else fails. I have also found that being able to see my friends everyday at school has had a positive effect on how I am feeling each day. I am always able to go to them with a problem I am having or if I just need some lifting up. Also, being able to be there for any of them makes me feel needed and like a supportive friend, which at the end of the day, makes me happier.
What was the greatest challenge you faced in this project and how did you work through it?
One of the greatest challenges I faced in this project was, trusting in my partner and not taking control. I have a tendency to take over project because I have a vision in my head and I always want our products to turn out the best and I have lots of trust issues with people. One example of this is when my group member didn't do much to anything in the project, especially the filming, and when it was time to edit she didn't know how to use any of the programs we had available so I also had to stay after school most days to try to get as much editing done as possible. I did trust her enough in the end to have her take home the flash drives and sd cards and finish and edit the final video. I think the video turned out pretty good, but I would have liked to make some of the final edits.
How have you grown as a group worker in this project?
I have definitely grown as a group worker in this project, but one of the biggest ways was communication. Throughout the entire project work time, my partners and I had to communicate about our visions and ideas for the project, we had to divide the work up, set up filming days, get b-role, and edit. All of these things were essential parts of being successful in this project, so we had to make sure that we communicated anything and any time we needed.
If you could refine any part of this project, thinking back through the entire project, Brave New World through experiments to videos, what would you refine, and how would you refine it?
If I could go back and refine one thing in this project, it would be, going deeper into my research. While we were doing our annotated bibliography's and SAC packets, I finished early and I had the chance to do extra research on either the topic at hand or on something that I was interested in, but I didn't. I didn't take advantage of the resources that Sara provided for us as extra things we could look into, and when I had extra time, I didn't look into more things that could have improved our video. So if I could go back and refine one thing, I would have taken time to increase my knowledge on our video topic.
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Happy
Citation:
Belic, Roko, director. Happy. Happy, 2011.
Summary:
The main point of “Happy” is that when you help people, have close connections, and when you are comfortable being you, that will make you happy. This documentary is about what makes people happy. They interview and look deeper into some of the happiest peoples lives and they see what can really make a person happy.
Assessment:
This source is pretty strong, but I do think there were a lot of biases and different opinions in some things they said.
Reflection:
It helps by answering what can make a person happy so it can help to figure out what is happiness.
Evidence:
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“Each person has to be what they want to be.”
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“There isn’t pleasure without pain.”
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“Dopamine is the equivalent of having some addictive drug.”
There’s More To Life Than Being Happy
Citation:
Smith, Emily Esfahani. “There's More to Life Than Being Happy.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Jan. 2013.
Summary:
This article comares what happiness and the meaning of one's life is. It talks about how people can get happiness and a meaning to life mixed up. It talks about what can make someone actually happy verses having a meaning to life. It says people would think that having a meaning to life mean they are happy or if you worry and focus too much on being happy then will actually be more stressed or worried.
Assessment:
This source is pretty strong but just like the last it had lots of biases and opinions, and several things that weren't true or that I didn’t agree with.
Reflection:
It digs deeper into what is happiness so it will help us answer the the question of what is the truth of happiness. It compares what happiness is versus what a meaningful life is, and that focusing too much on being happy could actually have to opposite effect on you and make you more unhappy.
Evidence:
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“We are not only expressing our fundamental humanity, but are also acknowledging that there is more to the good life than the pursuit of simple happiness.”
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“Happiness, they found, is about feeling good.”
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“People become happy, in other words, when they get what they want.
The New Era Of Positive Psychology
Citation:
Seligman, Martin. “The New Era of Positive Psychology.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, Feb. 2004.
Summary:
This Ted Talk is about what makes certain people happy, or content. He talks a lot about flow and how flow can make people happier. He talks about his background in these studies and how he came to learn about happiness instead of learning about what makes someone depressed. He talks about three types of life, the pleasant life, the meaningful life, and the good life. He talks about the 11th reason to be optimistic.
Assessment:
This source was pretty strong, but I feel like he never stated any actual facts and he just had a lot of biases and opinions. I do feel like he did give a ton of information and I did learn a lot.
Reflection:
I don't think this completely related to the question but I really think he dug deeper into the certain lifestyles we can live.
Evidence:
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“And starting about six years ago, we asked about extremely happy people. How do they differ from the rest of us? It turns out there's one way, very surprising -- they're not more religious, they're not in better shape, they don't have more money, they're not better looking, they don't have more good events and fewer bad events. The one way in which they differ: they're extremely social. They don't sit in seminars on Saturday morning.”
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“They don't spend time alone. Each of them is in a romantic relationship and each has a rich repertoire of friends.”
People React To Being Called Beautiful
Citation:
Dainius. “Student Captures What Happens When People Are Told They Are Beautiful.” Bored Panda, www.boredpanda.com/people-told-you-are-beautiful-video-shea-glover/?utm_source.
Summary:
This is a video about what happens when people are called beautiful and their reactions.
Assessment:
This source wasn't very strong but it did make me think more about what certain things could make people happy. Like say someone is very self conscious about how they look, and someone called them beautiful, that could make them very happy.
Reflection:
This source didn’t relate a whole lot to the question but it made me think a little deeper about what can make different people happy if they when they have different situations.
Evidence:
Happiness Linked To A Longer Life
Citation:
MacMillan, Amanda. “Happiness Linked to Longer Life.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 Apr. 2015, www.cnn.com/2011/10/31/health/happiness-linked-longer-life/index.html.
Summary:
This article is a study of what people with different amounts of happiness lives longer. It said that the happiest people live longer and the not as happy ones live for a shorter period of time.
Assessment:
This source was strong with facts and such, but I don’t think I will use it for later research.
Reflection:
I don’t this source completely related to the beginning question, but it will lead me closer to a potential answer.
Evidence:
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“The participants, who were between the ages of 52 and 79 when the study began, were divided into three groups according to how happy and positive they felt. Although the groups differed slightly on some measures (such as age, wealth, and smoking), they were comparable in terms of ethnic makeup, education, employment status, and overall health. Five years later, 7% of people in the least happy group had died, compared with just 4% in the happiest group and 5% in the middle group.”
What makes you happy? It may depend on your age
Citation:
Brownstein, Joe. “What Makes You Happy? It May Depend on Your Age.” LiveScience, Purch, 2 Aug. 2011, www.livescience.com/15349-happiness-definition-aging.html.
Summary:
This article is about what makes people happy at different ages. It talks about how a kid would enjoy going to the zoo or carnival but would not have fun just sitting around and using lots of patience to say, knit or something.
Assessment:
This source was very strong for my independent research question. It pretty much answered the question I was asking.
Reflection:
Although this source didn’t help answer the original question, it helped so much with answering my independent question, which will help me answer the overall question.
Evidence:
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“Younger people, generally more concerned with the future, base their happiness more on excitement, the researchers found, while older people place a higher value on the present, and so contentment tends to be a greater source of happiness for them.”
The Two Happiest Ages In Life, According To New Study, Are Unexpected
Citation:
Regalado, Michelle. “These Are The Two Happiest Ages In Life, According To New Study.”Bustle, Bustle, 22 Dec. 2017, www.bustle.com/p/the-two-happiest-ages-in-life-according-to-new-study-are-unexpected-48469.
Summary:
This source is about what the two happiest ages are. They took some people and gave them a test they had to do now, and then 5 years later and they tallyed up results and found out what the happiest ages were. It states the two happiest ages are 23, and 69. They say that 23 is one of the happiest ages because its when you usually start to get a career and start to look into what you want to do for the rest of your life, and you look forward to the future. They say 69 is the other happiest age because its when people usually retire, nd they can finally settle down with their lives, and are able to relax.
Assessment:
This source is pretty strong, I would just want to do a little more research myself if I am going to look at this website again.
Reflection:
This source is pretty strong for my question, and it is very interesting and will help a lot to answer the original question.
Evidence:
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“According to the data pull from the study, our levels of happiness in life seem to follow a U-shaped curve between the ages of 20 to 70, with our joy peaking at the ages of 23 and 69.”
Happiness Experiment
Hypothesis
I think I can increase my happiness by getting up earlier and giving myself enough time to get ready and eat breakfast.
Procedure
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At the start of the week I will take the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and record my happiness level.
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Each day right when I get up, I will rate my happiness on a scale from 1-10 (1 being very unhappy and 10 being extremely happy).
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Get up, get ready, and eat breakfast.
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Right after I get ready and eat, I will rate my happiness again.
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At the end of the week I will take the questionnaire again to see if my happiness level increased.
Data and Observations
Date
Happiness level before getting up and eating breakfast
Happiness level after getting up and eating breakfast
Observations
Thursday
Before
4
After
7
I am usually grumpy in the mornings but I was actually able to get up and everything I needed to do witch was nice and lowered stress a ton for me.
Friday
Before
3
After
5
It was nice to get up and eat some breakfast to feel prepared for the day.
Saturday
Before
3
After
4
I had work early in the morning and so my alarm was set for a later time and I didn’t get up as early as I wanted to.
Sunday
Before
4
After
5
I set my alarm to the appropriate time and I felt good about how the day went that day because I felt energized and prepared.
Monday
Before
4
After
4
I don’t like mondays in general, so today getting up early did not make a huge amount of difference.
Tuesday
Before
4
After
7
I always look forward to Tuesdays as i have a lot of good exciting things happening later that day so i thought it helped better my score.
Wednesday
Before
3
After
7
I felt very energized and prepared and ready to go.
Friday
Before
5
After
6
Today I felt pretty relaxed in the morning.
Total Scores
Before
30
After
45
Test score before the experiment: 2
Test score after the experiment: 4
Truth of Happiness Video
Socialization and Mask project
This project was all about learning who were were and how everything around us socialized us. We learned how much everything around us effects us in ways both good and bad. We made masks and essays in this project. The masks we plastered on our faces to make the shape of the mask, then we smoothed out the edges and refined them. Then painted/decorated them to put out a message about us and how we have been socialized and maybe how we want to break free from the stereotypes about us. The essays we wrote were about our experiences with socialization and how we've been effected by how we've been socialized.
My Mask
Project Reflection
I haven’t grown that much in the writing sense of this project. I had a TON of experience with writing at my middle school and not much of the writing was different. For example the TEA paragraphs that we went over, I had already learned at mountain. Same with the topic sentences, and a thesis statement. My biggest takeaway from this project was learning about socialization. At the start of this project I knew nothing about it and it was so cool to learn about how i've bees socialized, and how it's effecting my life. I loved making the masks. It was my favorite part. The way I view people and the world now is so different. Socialization is everywhere, and you can't easily get away from it. Like sometimes I might be watching a movie and a character says something and before this project I wouldn't even think about it, I would just let it go. But after the project I definitely would think something completely different.
As a group member I felt like I did most the work in my group, and in other groups as well. I did most of the setting up in my room and made the trivia game ( with help from maya ( thank you maya )) and all the papers we had. Sam was a huge help with the video. I also made another group's entire video with was the main part of their room. I am not meaning to brag in any way, I’m just saying what I did. I also had a little trouble throughout the whole project to get certain people in my group to actually do something. I felt I got very overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to do, and didn't even sign up for. If I had to do the project again I would make it very clear what everyone's role was and be sure they got it done. I also would make sure everyone knew what I needed and make sure I knew what everyone else needed and we would compromise with roles for everyone that fits their wants and needs.
My Essay
What We’ve Missed
Socialization is an invisible force in everything we see, do and where we go. It is training us to believe what we believe and to like what we like. We are always trapped inside of it. It affects celebrities, magazines and even a complete stranger walking down the street. Say one day you're walking down the road, you look up ahead and see a man with his two kids and his dog and wife. They all look happy and content with their lives. You pass them and give a quick smile and wave; you maybe even say hello. As you keep walking you think about how awesome it would be to have their life. But you don't know that his mom in in the hospital with cancer, and one month ago they had to put their 15 year old son in the ground because he was drunk driving and got into an accident. We are socialized in many ways, shapes, and forms, even though we might not know it. Socialization puts the idea in our head of something we need to be, to look like, to live by.
Socialization has even affected my music choices. In 8th grade when I started to listen to my favorite band, I changed a lot. I got bullied for liking them and wearing their merch. I got comments like, “they suck,” and “their trash,” and other rude comments. It's so crazy to think socialization is so powerful it even affects what we listen to. The things we get bombarded by is the nervousness of people not liking your appearance and how you live your life. It is your life supposedly; no one can tell you how to live, right? That's what we think until we look deeper and see that we are all trying to be a certain person or have a certain life to be accepted.
We are all human beings. We hate and we judge and we put down people because of their looks and appearances. But asking people to stop judging is like asking a toaster to stop toasting and find another purpose in life. It can’t- that's the thing, we cant stop judging and judging and judging, because that's just how we've been socialized. In the article When He Says, ‘I’m A Human Being,’ I Tear Up, Too, a homeless man states “I’m not a bum, I’m a human being.” I used this because people are socialized to judge people at first glance and don't look deeper into people's lives. We are way too quick to judge and we need to look deeper and closer before we hate.
Almost impossible images and stereotypes of women cause depression and insecurity. At school my friends would have arguments over who was fat and skinny, and who was pretty and ugly. They would call themselves fat and ugly and point our all of their insecurities and they would compliment everyone else on their appearance. They would compare their boobs and butts to everyone else and put themselves down because they never think they are perfect enough. In the article 5 Reasons Why My Girlfriend Thinks She's Not Beautiful Enough, No Matter What Anyone Tells Her, it states “47% of girls 5th-12th grade felt magazine pictures influenced them to want to lose weight and only 29% of those girls were actually overweight.” This makes me very upset that already skinny girls want to be skinnier and lose weight. They bring themselves down so much and not realize that they are all beautiful just the way they are. In the movie Mean Girls the plastics, or the girls that are the most popular, like to point out all of their flaws. We have seen other girls do it so much we think it’s normal. It's not fair that girls are trained to hate themselves. We should be trained to love ourselves and not judge everyone else.
To fit into the 21st century world you need to be something very specific which is almost impossible. We are born to see and point out flaws in people and things around us. We’ve missed so many great opportunities with people we love because we just judge them and don't pay attention to what really matters. We can however change how we view the world and people around us. Before we judge someone we should try to imagine being in their shoes and how it would feel to be them. That could change a lot.
My Mask:
The front of the hands have pictures of stereotypes of females, especially teanagers. The back of the hands have pictures of things I love, enjoy and things I have accepted in my day to day life. The first mask has a story on it of the mask I portray to the world, my friends and family. The inside of the mask is painted the word “FALSE” to symbolize that that part of me is false. The outside is painted pink and decorated with ribbons because it is an example of what I feel like I need to look like. The eyes are smeared representing blurred vision. The second mask is a story about my real life. It is ripped up and burned representing that it is falling apart. The end of the story says “NOT THE END” while on the other story it states “THE END” portraying that that is the end of the story. All while not the end, means there is still more to seek, and a new story is being made. The back of the second mask sayes “TRUE” and it's blue to symbolize more sadness like this part of my life is true, but I don’t want it to be. The top of the mask is gray because of the same reason of the blue, but also because my favorite color is gray. The mouth is taped shut with two pieces of black tape making an X symbolizing that I can’t speak about what's really going on.