The Song That Started Everything
Several years ago, when I was an aspiring artist working on my BFA degree, I heard the song *Happiness is free* by Miguel Migs, and I got inspired. "*Happiness is free when you lose your mind, Happiness is free when you look inside…*" truly sounded like wisdom to me, so I decided to investigate the idea.
I turned to literature, art and philosophy in search for my answers. From the definitions of happiness, through the Declaration of Independence that grants rights to the pursuit of Happiness, into the masterpieces of music, I was on my journey to grasp the concept of Happiness.
The Art Project That Changed My Path
Being an artist at that time, I expressed my ideas in conceptual art that seemed appropriate for the subject of my research. I created an art book entitled "Ten Steps to Happiness" that consisted of the title page and 10 pages that followed.
Here is the essence of my book:
Ten Steps to Happiness
... and so on, through all ten steps.
The simplicity was the point. The repetition was the message. Happiness isn't found—it's practiced.
The Plot Twist
Little did I know about my future endeavors at that time. The girl who made an art book about practicing happiness would become obsessed with measuring it.
Fast-forward and here I am: data science student at a prestigious university, investigating happiness again. But this time it's all about quantifying the phenomenon! Very serious research with very serious spreadsheets.
When Art Meets Analytics
Among all the fascinating data we can crunch, dissect, and analyze, one topic stands out like a unicorn in a dark forest—the World Happiness Report. Over a decade ago, this report made its grand debut. And exactly ten years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 20th as the International Day of Happiness—a whole day dedicated to spreading joy like a melody that lifts the spirit.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network proudly declared, "Our success as countries should be judged by the happiness of our people." Since then, happiness has become a favorite topic of our quirky bunch—the data science students.
The Beautiful Paradox
Here's what fascinates me: I went from creating art that said "just practice being happy" to analyzing gigabytes of data trying to understand what makes people happy. The artist in me laughs at the irony. The data scientist in me creates another pivot table.
But maybe that's the point. Maybe happiness exists in both places—in the simple practice and in the complex analysis. In the art and in the algorithm.
What I've Learned So Far
As an artist, I believed: Happiness is internal, personal, practiced
As a data scientist, I discovered: Happiness has patterns, correlates, and can be predicted
The truth? Both are right. The magic happens when you combine them.
Your Happiness Data Point
So next time you spot a data science student with a twinkle in their eye, you know what they're dreaming of—spreadsheets full of laughter, happiness bar graphs, and joyous data visualizations galore. The pursuit of happiness never looked so enchanting!
But remember: Before you analyze happiness, maybe try practicing it first. Step one through ten—it's all the same step.
*With earnestness and dedication,
Your Fellow Chaser*
P.S. Still practicing being happy. Now with 95% confidence intervals.