Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (12:00 p.m.) Sadness Journal | Page 31

having a career in writing and performing music professionally. But some of our par-
ents have expressed that the degree has to come before anything else, which Avery
doesn’t agree with if she is able to break into the professional music world before her
degree is finished. This conflict creates additional anger and sadness in her life. She
finds it difficult to pursue what makes her happy because it goes against what her
parents think is best for her. This is another instance of obstacles preventing happi-
ness, though it is less theoretical than what Emma experienced. Contrasting to what
Emma said, Avery stated that moving to Chicago has had no impact on her overall
sadness.
Avery and Emma are mostly in agreement about how college and sadness are
linked by stress. Avery also stated that she has felt sadder in college than when she
was in high school.
I am the oldest child in my family. I am nearing the end of my fifth semester at
Oakland University, studying mechanical engineering with a computer science minor.
I have experience sadness in college through the increased amount of personal re-
sponsibility that is granted to college students. Not only are you responsible for your
time management related to classes, it is on you to keep up with things such as laun-
dry, cleaning, and taking care of yourself health wise. I have found that I tend to
waste a lot of my free time on the internet when I could be doing something more pro-
ductive, like studying or working on personal creative projects that I want to finish. It’s
the realization of the wasted time that causes me the most sadness. It’s hard to think
of all of the work I could have accomplished had I not been so lazy, and this thought
saddens me.
The stress of college has impacted me as well, but not as much as my sisters.
While academics certainly cause me stress, I’m not one to dwell on or directly spend
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