The Happiness Project

Imagine a campus where students are never stressed, where students make time for fun in their schedules, a campus known for being happy…

Harvard? Definitely not.

To some this may seem like a world far away from the reality of Harvard, but this is exactly the type of campus that "The Happiness Project" aims to create.

"The goal for this project centers around making students happier and less stressed. Rather than having a culture where stress is the norm, we should try to have one where we focus on building a schedule to leave room for self-care. With such a focus, everyone's happiness level will ultimately go up," said Leslie R. Rith-Najarian '12, the organizer of the project.

The project will organize events that encourage people to live happier lives by promoting activities that people love to do rather than activities people feel they should be doing.

"Basically, it's a student model of a happy lifestyle, in whatever way that can mean to people," Rith-Najarian said.

The room will be student-staffed Monday through Friday evenings. It will be packed with whatever students want, including board games, a ping-pong table, a Wii game set, and other items donated by local alumni.

The project's first meeting is today at 8 p.m. at the SOCH.

"I just want to give people the permission to be more happy and less stressed," Rith-Najarian said.

Permission granted, Harvard! Now go play!

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons