Two Day Magazine

By: Anya Alvarez

I’ve been accused of smiling too much and not taking life seriously enough. I love all things silly and and more often than not, I am laughing hysterically at something. Things that may not even be funny to other people, like when a little girl I know says, “Hoobs,” instead of ‘boobs.’ Gets me every. Single. Time.

I laugh when I get nervous. I laugh when I get upset. I laugh when I do something stupid. At all times my laughter is genuine, it just carries a different tone at certain moments.

Over the years, I have learned that laughter and having fun really makes the experience of living better. This may seem like common sense, but moments arise when I forget to smile and start to take life a little too seriously. This happens more often with me on the golf course.

The golf course is the only place where I find myself putting on my serious face with a scowl to match. I get in a zone where I forget that I am trying to put a little white ball in a hole just slightly bigger than itself in as few strokes possible. Even with that reminder, I still have a pout that would be better served if I knew I had been sentenced to death row.

I can’t make a career out of being unhappy out there, so I started to see what I could do on the golf course to channel my inner-child and enjoy the fact that I get to play golf for a living.

First step, I made a list of all the reasons why I love playing, the top three being traveling, getting to spend time outside, and the opportunity to meet amazing people. 

Second step, I decided to make practice more fun by doing instructional videos that involve me dancing to rap songs. During my tournaments though I still struggle to find that spunky, weird girl who loves to smile. It’s not that golf makes me unhappy. I just love the game so much, I want it to love me back just a little bit.

“The Child is the Father of the Man,” William Wordsworth once wrote.

When I first read that I had no idea what it meant. I sat in the desk of my English class in 12th grade trying to figure out those words. My English teacher began explaining and slowly I realized what Wordsworth meant: We are the fathers of ourselves. The way we are as children determines who we will be as adults.

It’s a scary thought to have. What if we don’t exert any control over our personalities? What if we are born to be pessimists? What if I am destined to be miserable on the course because I’ve always been hard on myself when playing?

As I sit in the airport, I observe the baby next to me. She is lying on the floor with her sunflower blanket, staring at the ceiling, laughing, giggling, and smiling at what appears to be nothing. I feel we were all like that as children. We were able to enjoy the simple things, and without any worries, able to live life with the notion that everything would be okay. As babies I truly believe that we didn’t know what an argument was, or that even anger existed. All we wanted was to be held, loved, and cherished. But as we grew our needs change, demands increase, and happiness isn’t determined by our self-contentment but in what others give us. I was so happy as a child without even realizing it.

As we age, though, happiness appears to be something we have to work towards. Having fun is often a job in of itself. However, happiness should not take so much work. There should be an easiness that comes to enjoying our lives, but moments in our life do not come so easily sometimes. We have to work hard for moments that come in our life and I try hard. Very hard.

What I have noticed that when I am having fun I am not really trying. I let the moment unravel and before I know it I am on my butt laughing, and sometimes I’m laughing at nothing. My goal for now is to be more childlike and to try to enjoy moments as they come. Life should be fun, and not feel like a 24-7 job.

**************************

twoday magazine wants to know: Do you choose to be happy or is it easy for some and hard for others? Share with us on our Facebook page.

Follow @anyaalvarez on Twitter.