When I moved to Beijing in 2019, I went searching for happiness. I wasn’t happy with my old situation in Canada because I felt captive. After living in the same city for over a decade, monotony and a desire for change plagued my thoughts. So, when my dad announced the we were moving to China, I saw an opportunity to grow. Since then, I am in a much happier place now.
This beautiful country has treated me well and the people have taught me how to find my own happiness. My time spent in China will be nostalgically revisited with a hint of melancholy. I will miss the splendid hours spent exploring Beijing, the amazing nights with my friends, the long intellectual discussions I have held with wonderful people. But I won’t miss the hard evenings when my mind was filled with self-doubt and despair, when my academic confidence would crumble from not understanding assignments that seemed so simple to my peers. To me, happiness is when I feel a sense of deep satisfaction like all the stars are aligned and everything in that infinitely small moment is perfect.
Every man, woman, and child’s experience of living in Beijing will be different and interesting. Everyone has their own definitions of happiness. I thought it would interesting to ask a colorful variety of Beijingers, from local Chinese to expats and from teens to retirees, on what they thought happiness meant to them.
According to the Oxford dictionary, happiness is a state of mind. It is often associated with feelings of joy and contentment. To achieve happiness, one must have all their needs satisfied.
“Happiness is about self-acceptance and being okay with the way you are.”, says Cindy Avom, a student at Pakistani Embassy College Beijing.
Wang Xin is a lawyer who’s lived in Beijing for 15 years. To her, happiness is to be fulfilled while “doing good for those around us “. She also thinks happiness can be found in the small things like “a cup of steaming coffee in the morning” or “a fresh bouquet of flowers in the bedroom”.
Jenny Avom, a student at Pakistani Embassy College Beijing who has lived in Beijing since 2005, gives an inspiring quote: “Happiness is temporary but sadness is too.”
Weiss Jia, a now retired local, says that he found happiness “doing the things he loved” like fishing and hiking. And finally, Hélène Wang, a grade 12 student at Beijing City International School who has lived in Beijing her entire life believes that happiness comes from “having a caring social circle”.
So now you ask, what was the point of knowing what other people feel about happiness? Well, I guess it was just to see how happiness can differ from one person to another. And to inspire you to reflect on your own happiness. Have you been able to find satisfaction in your life?
Images: Pexels
This article appeared in the jingkids 2022 Teen Takeover issue
