“Peace. Love. Happiness.” We say it and we wear it, but in all of our school day drama are we hypocrites enough to say we live it? Over time the definitions of these fundamental parts of life have been twisted or forgotten. They have been abused for wealth, entertainment, and weak substitutes to true affection. People make wonderful parts of life seem old fashioned and outdated. They stop caring for others and at some point it seems they don’t even care for themselves.


Peace is not spreading rumors or falsehoods just because we can. It is not going out of your way to hurt someone’s feelings or starting something over nothing. It’s certainly not talking behind someone’s back before you meet them, cracking jokes as they walk by just to improve your own status. What is peace?

Love is not something you meet on your first try, or something you should plan to experience as a teenager. It’s not being friends with someone as long as they aren’t as good as you. It’s not what you do before you stab someone in the back. It’s not talking to someone in a chat room and then giving the cold shoulder the next day. What is love?

Happiness is not what comes from the material things. You can’t get it from money. No matter how many drugs you try, no matter how much pain you drink away, you will not find it when you finish shooting up or at the bottom of the bottle. It’s not smiling when your around people and convincing yourself when you’re alone that you aren’t worth anything. What is happiness?

Peace is being willing to be wrong, and when you swallow your own pride because some things just aren’t worth it. It’s looking past the problem to the solution and then being a part of the solution. It’s giving hope to yourself, your family, your school, your community, you nation and even your world. This is peace.

Love is when best friends stay up all night together. It’s in the eyes of the bride and groom on that wonderful wedding day. It’s the ability to look past the imperfections of another and accepting them the way they are. It’s knowing that not even you are perfect, that we all have bumps and scratches, but still being willing to work together to improve the status of everyone. This is love.

Happiness is seeing light in every situation. It’s spreading joy to the downcast. It’s the ability to not focus on how boring or lame something will be, but on how fun you can make it. It’s living lifelike nothing is wrong even when everything is. It’s acceptance of yourself. It’s dancing when no one is watching. It’s smiling and meaning it. This is happiness.

Peace. Love. Happiness. Live it, with pride.