Is it falling in love? Is it getting married?

Is it having lots of money and material things?

Is it a clean bill of health? Is it being a size 2?

Is it the springtime? Is it Christmas?

Happyness means a lot of different things for different people. For me, it means my closest friends. It means my family. It means my matriculation in college. It means my senior year of high school. It means sitting on the edge of the Grand Canal in Venice. It means sitting on the beach in Puerto Rico. It means riding in my car with the windows down and the sunroof open. It means a good mix cd. It means a great concert. It’s Mrs. Palmer’s cookies. It’s Strawberries & Cream from CakeLove. It’s hip-hop.

It’s all the people who matter to me — Mom, Tom, Decatur, B. Lanier, Lo’Chelle, Malachi, Sash, Cris, DJ, KRF, Malayia, Tandi, Hope, Paul, Nichelle, Ike’s Tina, my girls from high school, Erika Kane, Babs, Shanel, Lawrence, my St. Luke’s fam, Samilia, Thay, LeeVon, DW, The King of Jonesboro, DRyCuba, Cee, Joy, Trish, Fatimah, Pat, Barb, Jakey…and the list goes on.

It’s a feeling. It’s a color. It’s peace of mind. It’s unconditional love. It’s pure joy. It’s smiles and tears. It’s more than I can put into words. It’s a good time. It’s the Beautiful at 4am. It’s laughter. It’s feeling appreciated. It’s a compliment. It’s a phone call from a friend on a bad day.

For me, it’s all that and more…what does happyness mean to you?