Personal Happiness

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Personal Happiness
When one relocates from one country to another in search of greener pastures, several things change. For instance, when I moved to America, some of the things that changed included the people I interacted with and the events I participated in and subsequently the change influenced my happiness either positive or negatively. While I am saddened that my daughter will grow up separated from the rest of her relatives, being able to provide for her financially and raising her in a country where she has better opportunities for education and professional success greatly contributes to my happiness. Back from our country, life was way different, people work harder yet financially there are no changes.
Since the rest of my family still lives in the Philippines and my daughter is the only child, my happiness is diminished knowing that she will grow up without being able to develop close relationships with the rest of her relatives. While I was in Philippine with my daughter, I developed a close relationship with my family members. My daughter also developed strong family bonds with her aunties, uncles, and cousins. Subsequently, through the close bonds with the relatives, my daughter and I managed to overcome sadness experiences, loneliness, and low self-esteem. However, the situation is different in America. There are no close relatives around to accompany my daughter. Furthermore, most of the children in America do not engage in social activities as it was in Philippine.

One needs to engage with at least one close relative and a couple of other relationships as to avoid loneliness which significantly influences happiness (Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas). In America, my daughter and I do not get the one relative as suggested by Emiliana or the couple of friends required to boost our happiness and consequently, our happiness has diminished gradually.
Since I come from a country where it is often difficult for people to make a comfortable living, I am happy to discover that by living and working in the United States I can generate enough financial security to provide for my daughter. Some people believe that the financial position of an individual does not influence happiness. However, this is not the case when I compare the happiness of the Filipino families and the American families. For instance, survey results show that the average annual family income of Filipino families is approximately 267 thousand pesos ($5171.79) (Philippine Statistic Authority).  The average annual family expenditure for the same year is 215 thousand pesos ($4164.550). Hence, on average the Filipino families have savings of 52 thousand pesos ($1007.24) in a year. In contrast, the average income of the American family is $55,322 per year (United States Census Bureau) which by far exceeds the income of the Filipino family. By contrast, I have found that American families are happier than the Filipino families and the happiness can be correlated to the financial abilities of the families. This implies that my happiness in America has ideally been boosted by the high income when compared to the income in Philippine.
My ultimate goal is to see my daughter live a happy and successful life, so knowing that she has access to education and employment adds to my happiness. Unlike in Philipines, children in American have easy access to quality education. Furthermore, after completing their education, there are open to more job opportunities as compared Philippine. For instance, according to the census bureau, 33.4 percent of Americans aged 25 years and above have completed bachelor’s degree or higher. This is a sharp rise of twenty eight percent when compared to how it was a decade ago. Knowing that I have a daughter who expects to get a good job after school, I feel happy as females in America stand high chances of getting jobs as compared to females in Philippine. For instance, according to the Philippine Commission on Women, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for females at increased from 49.7% to 49.8% in 2012 and decreased from 78.3% to 78.1% for males (Philippine Commission on Women). From the results, it is evident that raising a child, particularly my daughter in America gives her an opportunity to access good education and job which increases my happiness.
In conclusion, it is evident that although I am saddened that my daughter will grow up separated from the rest of her relatives, being able to provide for her financially and raising her in a country where she has better opportunities for education and professional success greatly contributes to my happiness. By living and working in America, I have access to more income than in Philippine and therefore can provide financial security to my daughter. Furthermore, she can access good education and hopes to get a good job when she completes her education thus boosting my happiness. However, the fact that she is isolated from other family members diminishes both her happiness and my happiness as family members are critical tools that enhance the happiness of an individual.
Work Cited
Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas. “Want to Be Happy? Make Your Relationships Exceptional.” Berkeley University of California. November 9, 2015. Accessed (February 11, 2018) https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/want_to_be_happy_make_your_relationshipsexceptional#gsc.tab=0Philippine Commission on Women. “Statistics on Filipino women and men’s labor andemployment” pcw.gov. May 13, 2014. Accessed (February 11, 2018) http://pcw.gov.ph/statistics/201405/statistics-filipino-women-and-mens-labor-and-employmentPhilippine Statistic Authority. “Average Family Income in 2015 is Estimated at 22 Thousand Pesos Monthly (Results from the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey)” Philippine Statistic Authority. October 24, 2016. Accessed (February 11, 2018) https://www.psa.gov.ph/content/average-family-income-2015-estimated-22-thousand-pesos-monthly-results-2015-family-incomeUnited States Census Bureau. “Median Household Income in the United States.” census.gov. September 14, 2017. Accessed (February 11, 2018) https://www.census.gov/searchresults.html?q=household+income&page=1&stateGeo=none&searchtype=web&cssp=SERP