Bailee Burgess

Mr. Pace
Dual Credit English IV
22 May 2016
Where are you Happiness?
Visiting the World Database of Happiness changed Eric Weiners life forever. After
realizing that the United States scores surprising low on the charts, Weiner takes the journey of a
lifetime in order to find where happiness truly lies. Working for MPR gave Weiner the
background and skills needed to tackle this massive task. Without skipping a beat, Weiner left his
comfortable life as he boarded an airplane departing for the Netherlands, hoping to raise his own
happiness levels. Throughout his travels, Weiner uses colleagues to meet locals of each country
his visits. He then arranges a meeting and interviews them about their country. He concludes
each interview asking, How happy are you on a scale from 1 to 10? Is there a generally root of
joy planted in all of these unique countries that do score higher in happiness? The Geography of
Bliss has opened up my eyes to different cultures and society, but ultimately happiness is a state
of mind not a place.
The Netherlands almost seem too happy to Weiner. Hookers and various drugs are legal
and the entire society runs with the slack their government has given them. Weiner enjoys
himself here but after interviewing several locals he comes to realize, We want to achieve our
happiness and not just experience it. Perhaps we even want to experience unhappiness, or at least
leave open the possibility of unhappiness, in order to truly appreciate happiness (23). Weiner
describes a lot of the happiest of countries this way. They are so perfect that it acts as a constant
reminder of his sad and narcissistic state, leaving him feeling as though he has still failed to find
the happiest place on Earth. After visiting so many countries and receiving this same feeling over
and over again, Weiner resolves to travel to Moldova, the unhappiest place in the world.
Feeling lost on his search Weiner decides, We know a thing by its opposite. Hot means
nothing without cold. Mozart is enhanced by the existence of Barry Manilow. And happy places

owe their station, at least in part, to the unhappy ones (185). This thought drove Weiner to visit
the unpleasant country of Moldova. Moldova lost its identity after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Now its people feel abandoned and bitter. They blame their unusually low levels on happiness on
the recession that the Moldavians have been facing since the beginning of their country.
However, Yes, Moldovan are poor compared to other Europeans, but clearly it is their reaction
to their economic problems, and not the problems alone, that explains their unhappiness (220).
Nations even more incredibly poor than Moldova score higher in the World Database for
happiness. There is no excuse to not be happy.
I know that days can be bad and unfortunate things seem to happen at the worst times, but
a good attitude and positive thinking can go a lot further than we would like to let ourselves
believe. Exploring happy cultures only lead Weiner to find, A year of traveling and thinking
about happiness has proved fairly conclusively that none of these things lead to happiness, and
yet I still cant let them go (292). Weiners study has lead me to believe happiness isnt as
easily achievable as moving ones self to a different part of the world and trying new things once
or twice, but that one must put forth effort into being happy. Anyone can be happy if they wake
up and see the good and beauty in the world. Dwelling on negative thoughts and actions will
leave us believing that our happiness levels will be low forever. In the end, its not your
geography that makes you happy, but what you make of each and every day in the country you
currently reside in.