"If you wish to be happy, be."

This quotation from Leo Tolstoy might be an ingenuously simple ideal to follow; however, many are misled and spend their entire lives seeking ways to make themselves happy.

In our very own Declaration of Independence, it is said that three things should be valued most in our lives—"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Today, that is interpreted as spending time studying and working hard, earning lots of money and spending said cash on our wanted luxuries.

"Many students really do have a lot going for them," counselor Amy Daugherty said. "However, they choose to overshadow the good things with one bad thing that’s letting them down."

Most teens don’t want to be that person walking down the hallway bursting with sugar-coated artificiality, but "looking at the bright side" really does help.

"Everyone has had bad things in their lives; it just depends on if you choose to let them consume your life or not," Daugherty said. "Happiness is a choice."

While most of us want everything to happen just as we wish, life often has other plans. Although this is human nature, it is useful to know that most people do get what they desire.

However, it may not be exactly how they want it, in the time they expect or in the way they imagine it. This can make those impatient happiness-seekers even more frustrated.

"It is a cliché, but you have to keep reminding yourself it’s going to get better," senior Allie Shrum said. "Other people probably have it much worse than you do."

Finding happiness can also be very subjective. People are different, so their definitions of happiness, naturally, will be different too.

According to a helium.com article, studies show that ordinary things, such as having a happy, healthy family, gainful employment, friends and faith in whatever one might believe in were the most desired ways to achieve lasting happiness.

It also states that coming down to earth and forgetting about superficial ideas like winning the lottery and being famous can make happiness come to us much more easily.

"Thinking about good memories and just enjoying the little things that make me feel positive are definitely ways to make my day better," senior Bailey Phares said.

There is a psychology behind everything, even happiness. Abraham Maslow is best known for creating a ladder theory of happiness and motivation known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

It explains that once basic human needs are met, a person can advance to the next level of satisfaction of other needs and increase their happiness.

The first step includes our basic biological needs such as the things we need to live like food and water.

Next comes security. Once we are sure that we have the things we really need in life, safety and shelter are added. Following are relationships. A lot human happiness is satisfied by the meeting of the need for personal relationships.

"When people respond well and get along with you, happiness comes more easily," senior Chad Pingel said.

The pinnacle of happiness, however, can only be reached by what’s called "self-actualization."

"To make others happy, you need to learn how to make yourself happy first," sophomore Sara Hunemiller said.

Maslow theorized that we are free to progress up the ladder once we are satisfied with a certain level. However, many of us become fixated on a certain part of it.

He also theorized that in this desire, we try to find contentment through the respect of others. It is important to remember that in doing so, it should not be at the expense of one’s own happiness.

"Even if you’re not happy at the moment, just try to keep a smile on your face," Shrum said. "Putting yourself in a positive mindset will eventually turn into a habit."