Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Sadness Journal | Page 29

ing, and many more situations that come with living with another individual every single day in a room
smaller than their bedrooms at home. According to society, this cohabitation should lead to lifelong
friendship, and even though it might, that doesn’t happen without many, many bumps in the road.
College isn’t all bad all the time, though. There is still a lot of happiness that can be felt, even with
all the other emotions battling to be noticed. This is the part of college that society always talks about: the
friends, the parties, the sporting events, the clubs. On weekends, students can take breaks from the hassle
of schoolwork to go out with friends and just enjoy themselves. Even though the work is always in the
back of their mind, decreasing the amount of happiness truly felt, most students can push this to the side
and still have a good time in the moment. There are sporting events, where the crowds and group mental-
ity are intoxicating, and students are joining in the excitement, cheering their team on while talking and
enjoying time with their friends. The group situation is positive, and even after a loss, the adrenaline of the
game still creates an atmosphere of happiness and connectedness, which everyone craves. These sporting
events, as well as parties, serve to get the students connected; they’re all part of the same college, and
hoping for the same outcome, or dancing and singing to music they all know, all while sharing the happi-
ness throughout the crowd. In addition to parties, there are clubs specifically created to interest students.
When they are in a club, they can connect with individuals who are interested in the same topics that they
are, creating friendships. These clubs can also involve learning in a way that is much different than in a
class setting, without the grueling assignments, which makes it much more enjoyable. This is the type of
learning that society expects college students to experience daily, even though that expectation isn’t the
actuality in most cases.
Of all the emotions, happiness felt by college students is low compared to the other emotions.
Many students become overwhelmed and behind and cannot find a way to catch up if they fall behind.
There are some things that individuals can do to increase happiness, no matter how minor. The first is to
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