Love More

Love and happiness are valuable commodities, it seems like the whole world is searching for exactly that even if they don't realize it, yet it’s so difficult to find either, and even harder to quantify those feelings, because they become more rare as you get older. But love and happiness are somehow easier to quantify when the reason for the feelings are right there in front of you, that’s what’s so special about content specifically on the internet, you don’t have to wait anymore to accidentally be happy or lucky and feel love. All you need to do is go on the internet and find it yourself. Some people believe doing this gives you a cheap thrill but I believe it's the opposite, they give you short yet powerful bursts of energy or creativity and of course happiness. How can someone say no to a little bit of happiness? And I have so many little bits of happiness.

The first piece of happiness that I get to have is from an Instagram account called ‘historicalhomesofamerica’. I can't remember exactly how I discovered this account considering I know nothing about architecture or real estate and would not have gone out of my way to look at something like this, but I do remember the feeling I got when I first discovered it. It was like someone had divulged top-secret information to me. Getting to see the inside of all these beautiful houses that I would never normally get to see inside of felt special, I'd never get to visit houses like these so just getting a glimpse of them was enough. I love these houses, they’re inanimate yet so personal, you can always imagine all the people who lived there and all the stories it has seen, all the experiences it has had. Seeing these pictures of beautiful houses all over the United States gives way to a million daydreams and fantasies that I can create in my mind. What couples lived there, what families lived there, who got their heartbroken there and who fell in love? This brings such a warm feeling to me, knowing that it doesn't matter if we leave and never come back, those houses will always be there with the emotional ghosts and baggage of the people who lived their lives there before.

Some of the houses shown on the account have been there for centuries and they’ll be there long after we’re gone. It keeps our lives alive in some way, we may die but what happened in that house stays till the day the destroy it completely. It makes me so happy knowing that these incredible houses exist because they’re big and extravagant, they almost have a distinct personality each on its own, some are colourful and filled with vibrancy, and others are more minimalist and seem lonelier somehow. Some of them even seem to have faces, like they’re staring right at me, inviting me into an entirely different world being held in those walls. It's completely different from the kind of architecture I would ever see in my day to day life. This IG account gives me a window into not only the vibrant lives of the people who could have the means to live in these kinds of houses, but the vibrancy of the houses themselves, It fills me with joy knowing that inanimate objects, even though you shouldn't get attached to them, can have so much breathing living love that they give off because in a way that’s also the job of a house, take care of it and it will take care of you, and the fact that there are so many lovely houses like these all over the country is joyous.

Another pocket of happiness that I employ whenever I feel like I need a burst of it is a video from 1987, said video features two performances and an interview with the Beastie Boys on 'The Late Show' with Joan Rivers. Both the performances before and after the interview feature the Beastie Boys singing 'Fight For Your Right' and 'Time To Get Ill', some of their most popular songs and they perform with so much gusto and complete disregard for professionalism, the performances are sloppy and totally chaotic, but it's also so exciting to watch. This was back when the Beastie Boys were first starting out and had absolutely no intention of taking anything seriously, during the performances they would jump, thrust, run around, and push each other, they even start uncontrollably laughing at one point, it's a prime example of complete unadulterated happiness. The three of them had barely left their teen years and here they were still acting like they were on top of the world and could goof around even with millions watching, it’s inspiring. During the interview which they don't take seriously either, they all collectively make Joan’s job a lot harder than it should be, they don’t answer one question honestly and Adam Yauch gets up and sits behind the desk and puts on Joan’s glasses while she's trying to ask serious questions. They have no respect for authority and are cracking inside jokes throughout the whole thing. The interview is objectively hilarious. Now to provide some context, I’m not a very adventurous person, nor am I rebellious nor am I a smartass, but watching this video whenever I need a boost of joy gives me more free joyous teenage nihilism than I could ever ask for. Seeing them makes me want to go out and raise hell, it inspires me to be free and as crazy as I can possibly get. No one, not even Joan Rivers, could hold the Beastie Boys down and it makes me so happy knowing that maybe no one can hold me down if I can just emulate the Beastie Boys, it's inspirational. It's a textbook example of young people sticking it to authority and being happy while rebelling, it's electrifying. I watch the video whenever I feel slightly out of control or upset in any way. I also watch the video quite a bit because Ad Rocks Pee-Wee Herman impression cheers me up so fast.

Finally, a slightly more emotional pocket of happiness in my life is one specific photo that always brings me joy when I look at it, and I constantly look at it. The IG account 'subwayhands' who post, obviously, photos of varying hands on the NY subway posted a photo taken of a woman's hands and the second I saw this photo I immediately recognized my grandmother's hands in what I saw. She passed away 6 years ago and while that is a long time I still vividly remember so much of her. This photo not only looks exactly like her hands but emulates her completely. I remember my grandma telling me once that when she was about 25 she ran out of colours to paint her nails with, she had already done every shade of every colour about a hundred times, so she decided to start mixing and matching and every single day she would wake up in the morning, wipe off yesterday's colours and put in fresh new ones, sometimes a different colour for each hand and sometimes it was a different colour for each finger, but she always had totally unique looking fingernails. Not to mention she would always match everything she wore with what bag she was wearing, exactly like the woman in the photo. The accessories the eccentricity I see in the photo evokes so much love for my grandma and you might think I get a bittersweet feeling seeing this photo but there's nothing bitter about the way I feel when I think about my grandmother at all and seeing another older woman with veins in her hands and colourful rings on her fingers make me feel so happy because that means that my grandmother wasn't the only one one of her kind to exist on the planet but in fact there are many of her kind, here to provide love and style inspiration to their granddaughters, hopefully. I never got to take any photos of my grandmother's nails so whenever I want to remind myself of her true soul and eccentricity I look at this photo. I'm sure it makes her happy too somewhere.

In conclusion, it's really not difficult to find pockets of happiness on the internet, and why does that have to be a bad thing? In a world where everything is destined to let you down or hurt you, it's important to seek out joy wherever you can. And all of these things that make me happy aren't similar at all but are all connected by one thing, happiness, the happiness that it brings to not only me I think, but to many. There they are, little pockets of happiness scattered around the internet just waiting for you to find them. I know I'd be a slightly more bitter person without them.