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Happiness Interviews and Happiness Analyzed

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Happiness Interviews Transcript
Dawn Burkhert
HU300 – Arts and Humanities
Kaplan University

The first person I interviewed was my mom, Shirley. The reason I chose her is because she is 83 years old and raised seven kids during the early part of the Cold War. She has been married twice, she been broke then been comfortable but not wealthy, and she has seen her share of health problems. For my second interview, I chose a new co-worker named Doug. He is a 21 year old, homosexual, single father. While he does work to pay bills, he grew up in a family with money and usually gets what he asks for. He has never experienced a traumatic event such as a death in the family, serious health conditions, or hard financial times. He is …show more content…

I get what I want because if I’m unhappy, nobody’s happy.
Question: Have you always been that greedy about your happiness?
Response: Yeah, pretty much.
Question: Don’t you think everyone has the right to be happy?
Response: Sure, as long as it doesn’t affect me.
(D. Pittman, personal communication, March 26, 2012)

Happiness Analyzed
Dawn Burkhert
HU300 – Arts and Humanities
Kaplan University

In The Art of Being Human, Aristippus defined happiness as the sum of total pleasures experienced during one’s lifetime. However, after interviewing two totally different people, reading Chapter 7 in The Art of Being Human, and analyzing my own thoughts about happiness, I do not believe Aristippus’ definition to be accurate. To some, it’s about raising a family and enjoying life’s little moments, to others it’s about personal happiness at any cost, and to a few it is about doing good deeds for other people. Happiness can be fleeting or ever-lasting, can be spiritually influenced or materialistic. For every person, happiness takes on a different meaning. During the first interview with my 83 year old mom, Shirley, family was a key ingredient to her happiness. She was raised to believe in marriage and large families, as well as never putting herself first. Her happiness lies within knowing that she is making her family happy and spending time with her loved ones. She never asks for much, but always gives more than anyone could ever ask. Acts of such

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