Is there such a thing as a happy life? The majority of people find themselves asking this question and there are a number of reasons why a person would ask themself this question. It might be because a lot of bad things have happened to them, because of money, or because they just don’t know what the meaning of life is.

Let me first define what life is. People define life in a variety of ways. Well, I define life as a game in which you just have to follow the rules in order to live it accordingly and to get through the difficult stages. Just like in a video game, you follow the rules, you get focused, you win and if it happens that you lose, you get another chance.

Growing up hasn’t been an easy thing, I mean, you get through many stages and they just keep on getting more and more difficult. It feels like we mostly experience sadness over happiness and it’s not like that. My name is Elizabeth and this is my story. My happy life.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like if we didn’t smile, if we didn’t laugh. Mmh…then sadness wouldn’t have anywhere to hide. I’d like to think of my life as a dreadful, painful, happy life. Experiencing hate over love, pain over peace, rejections, now that’s real life.

I lived in a family of four; my parents, myself and my big sister. Being the firstborn was never an easy thing because I only felt my parents’ love for a short period of time and my sister came and took all that away from me. They favoured her more, complimented her more, she was the clever one, she was the respectful one, they said. I was always the cheeky one, the one who didn’t do house duties, the one who failed at school, the one who had boyfriends, but they never really looked for what was the cause of that, what made me turn out that way.

My dad was never my favourite, but I still loved him with all my heart and it ached me seeing him unhappy sometimes, but he did not care about my own feelings. The only thing he knew was to look at my faults and give me a huge slap that would leave me with a red cheek and eyes full of tears. He would call me dumb, humiliate me in front of other people. He made me turn out like this, there’s a lot of anger inside of me because of him. I failed at school because of him, he is the one who built that thing inside of me that always says, “You’re not clever, you don’t know anything.”

My mom has always supported me in everything, I love her. She always pushes me to do better, to get up and make a change for myself. She also hates my dad because she had to tolerate loving him for the sake of us, her children. He’d call her dumb, shout at her at the store, favour his family more than my mother! He beat my mother and he only stopped when my sister and I reached our teenage years because we knew how to stand up for our mother.

I told myself I would not give up till I was out of here, away from him. Well, not away from him, because he’s changed now, I think, but I am going to work hard so that I can give my mom the life she deserves. I, Elizabeth, will be a graduate and best believe it, the rejections will not last long. I will be successful even if it means I am successful at the age of 30, but I will be successful.

Tell us: What is your goal in life?