What does it mean to be happy? That's what Gretchen decided to answer during a year-long project of trying new things, curbing her attitude and emotions, and learning to be herself. If there was one thing I took away from reading about her experience, it would be a phrase she used throughout her research: Be Gretchen. In my case, it would Be Katy.

Happiness is not the same for everyone, but it's easy to be confused on how it might feel or what it might look like when the world gives us so many conflicting messages. It's even more difficult for someone whose mental health might be plagued with perfectionism and anxiety (check and check for me). Through her research, there's a lot of elements in what makes us happy from the hobbies we pursue to the relationships we are in to our environment. She breaks things down through her own experiences, research, and things she learned from other prominent figures, as well as the changes she made and what didn't work for her. Often what didn't fit her were things that didn't make her feel like herself. Happiness might be a blanket way that we're supposed to feel, but there's a lot of things that add up into that.

Gretchen made me reconsider what happiness means, but I'd have to say while I learned a lot, I also felt halfway through it made me a little anxious and overwhelmed in terms of....the writing was quite analytical and not as much fun as the title exuded. This fits with Gretchen's personality as she's the first to admit that she's a bit controlling, but sometimes that limited the journey; and the book felt a bit too organized like a lab report than a diary.

Otherwise, The Happiness Project reminded me that we're all different. I learned it's okay to like activities I enjoy and to have my own values of what happiness means to me versus what that might mean to someone else. We're not going to enjoy the same things, and that's okay.