HAPPINESS

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Everyone defines happiness in a different way; whether it's what makes them happy, who makes them happy, how they maintain happiness, etc. We see happiness in different ways also, like people smiling or laughing, people giving and receiving gifts. Psychoanalyst and philosopher Adam Phillips stated, "Anyone who could maintain a state of happiness, given the state of the world, is living in a delusion." In other words, if you can be happy in a world full of crime and hate, you are faking it.

It is definitely hard to maintain happiness in this world today, but it's not impossible. Some people really are genuinely happy everyday of their lives. Personally, I'm not happy every single day but I am most days. That's because the people in my life make me happy and the things I do make me happy. I'm not going to do something that I don't like or that won't make me happy. Sometimes situations come up that I'm not happy with, but they pass and I eventually get over it. Even if someone is having a bad day, all they need to do is smile and it will boost their happiness. It really does work, try it!

Soldiers aren't happy to be off at war, but they are happy when they come home to their spouse, kids, and family. People aren't happy that Donald Trump is our president but they have to live with it everyday so they just ignore it and go on with their lives. Married couples aren't happy in their marriage, so they divorce and are happy again and move on. There are many examples in this world that people are unhappy, but there are always ways to get out of unhappiness and into happiness.

Philosopher Lynne McFall gives us five categories of happiness; the happy idiot, the incompetent bottlecap collector, the deluded fool, the successful immoralist, and the impossible idealist (McFall pp. 528). This list ranges from someone who is happy about absolutely anything, to someone who has unrealistic goals and is happy. No one defines happiness, so as long as you are happy, no matter the situation, only you can define your own happiness.

David Brooks states that, "Recovering from suffering is not like recovering from a disease. Many people don't come out healed; they come out different" (Brooks pp. 568). Meaning that people who have suffered from a situation, like the loss of a loved one, don't come out miserable about life. They come out different; with a different perspective of life, with a different purpose. Which then can make them happy again.

There are many ways to be happy and experience happiness; buying a gift for someone, doing something you love, etc. Everyone should find that happiness inside them and continue to make themselves happy. Don't let anyone define your happiness because no one knows what truly makes you happy, only you do.

RUMORS

Rumors go around every single day and we always hear them whether or not we are aware that we hear them. Recently, a new rumor has been going around that carjackers are putting shirts around victims windshield wipers to lure them. The victim will see the shirt on their windshield, they will get out of their car to remove it, and that's when the carjacker will take their car or kidnap them or do whatever it is they want to do to the victim.

According to snopes.com, this rumor is proved to be false. Ashley Hardacre, a "victim" of this incident reported this happening to her one night when she got off from working the night shift. The City of Flint's police department reported that no other incidents like this have been recorded and that the shirt on Hardacre's windshield was placed there as a joke and had no connection to crime.




This type of rumor can be classified as a bogie rumor. According to Robert Knapp, a bogie rumor is derived from fears and anxieties (Behrens and Roesn pp. 497). I don't know about you, but if this incident was true, I would be scared! This rumor touches on basic anxieties because it makes you think that it might happen to you, so you continue to spread it in hope that it won't happen. It gives you fear that if it does happen, you might get raped or killed. This rumor fits the list of qualities that make a good rumor by Knapp because it heightens some of the elements and exaggerates some.

The rumor encourages DiFonzo's shared human sense-making by making it believable. Some parts of Hardacre's story doesn't match up; like when she says there were cars around her so she was uncomfortable getting out. But couldn't those cars just be the coworkers she walked out with? Everything else in the story seems to make sense and come together well. Most rumors that spread around are very believable with the information that is in the story. Remember, rumors are around us everyday, whether we are aware of them or not.