The Pursuit of Happiness

Not in reference to the Will Smith feature film or the US Constitution, The Happy Show exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver promotes the steps and trends of finding a jovial existence. Endearingly coined, this collection was manifest by acclaimed designer Stefan Sagmeister and his revelations pertaining to what makes him, and other people, happy. Eighteen of Brentwood’s Psychology AP12 and SPARC students were cordially invited by Mrs. Felix to trek over and discover serendipity. Humming happily like hummingbirds, the squad posed in front of the museums’ crab fountain as Mrs. Felix was surprised by Lindsay Bell, the SPARC ’14 Captain! Grins were plastered across faces like those on a troupe of the Joker’s henchmen as Lindsay explained the wonderful initiative she will soon take part in: the King of Bhutan is working to increase the national “GHP”, or “Gross Happiness Product”, which rejects the idea of basing a country’s standing solely on its annual economic output. She beamed, reminisced, and looked forward to making a positive difference. Post-its lined the windows with ‘happy things’: gumball machines measured attendees’ happiness levels, cards popped out of the walls to offer activities to spur joy, and poignant music played in the background. Quotes and statistics regarding monetary or matrimony’s connections to happiness, as well as personal idioms about success, were light-heartedly hand-written on the walls.  From a wise bike that reminded students not to pedal through life too quickly to the smile frame that would light up as brightly as we graced it with our pearly whites, this exhibition was a pleasing, informative experience. Unfortunately, there were no dogs or cats being featured or even mentioned, so many students deemed most of the research void, “I’m not saying I’m angry, just disappointed,” said a despondent Patricia P, Mack ‘16. Certain students found the exhibition invigorating and took to the streets (within the school bus) to spread their exuberance with the city, through choice compliments (which elicited smiles and thank yous and pleased ‘hang loose’ gestures). The ferry ride back concluded with a whale of a good time (because we saw Orcas). Special thanks to Mrs. Felix and Ms. White for their chaperoning expertise and Ethan S, Privett ’15, Cristina T, Hope ’15 and Jaclyn C, Alex ’16 for pointing out dogs during the trip. Kimmi G, ‘15