Happiness is a feeling that every person experiences. It is dependent on many different things. For some people that is money and for others it is things that money cannot buy.

“I don’t think money makes a person happy but you can definitely do things with money that makes you happy,” senior Finn Navidomskis said.

There have been several studies that have measured the level of happiness of the countries around the world. The level of happiness is based on six factors: levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption.

Costa Rica has been ranked the happiest country in the world for 2016. It is closely followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Belize, and El Salvador. The United States was ranked 105. In the study most of the happy countries were not first world countries. It shows that the things that make people happy do not necessarily need to be items bought with money.

In 2015 the was a study about happiness called The Happiness Project. Gretchen Rubin, the woman behind the study, concluded that 50% of a person’s happiness is genetically determined, 10-20% are dependent on life circumstances (health, age and occupation), and 30% of the happiness we feel is within our immediate control. Rubin later wrote a book entitled, “The Happiness Project”. “One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.” Gretchen Rubin wrote.

Happiness means different things for different people and it is felt differently in every person. For some, being around others make them genuinely happy. For others, listening to good music or going on a run makes them genuinely happy.

“The word happiness means to me, being in a state where you always feel like everything around you is good,” senior Caleb Beardall said.