In the first week of March, Carlmont Associative Student Body (ASB) welcomed a new program called Project Happiness to the school.
ASB representative Cailin Cumming said, “The purpose of Project Happiness is to create an encouraging environment for Carlmont. We [ASB] just want to do something nice for everyone at Carlmont; hopefully that positivity and generosity can go a long way.”
Between March 3 and 14, students were invited to the quad at lunch to write on whiteboards what makes them happy.
One popular response was for students to take a picture with a friend, each holding a whiteboard with an arrow pointing to the other person. Others, however, chose to write something personal on their board, such as the name of a loved one.
Project Happiness took the next step in promoting joy to students when ASB allowed students to send anonymous compliments to students at lunch in the quad between March 17 and 27.
Though it may come as a surprise, Project Happiness has, indeed, created an optimistic environment around Carlmont.
Junior Daryush Shahid said, “Project Happiness is a fun and creative way to spread joy around the school. It’s rewarding, too, because by sending an anonymous compliment, you feel like you did something good for someone else.”
Sophomore Lauren McDonnell said, “It’s been fun walking around campus and seeing random people holding the little ‘Anonymous Compliment’ forms. I think Project Happiness was a really unique idea [and] I hope ASB brings it back next year.”
Cumming said, “Overall, we were just really motivated to do something that Carlmont students would enjoy [while allowing them to] take a short break from the hardships of daily life.”
There are currently no more steps to the project, but Cumming explained that ASB plans to hang the banner that a variety of Carlmont students helped to create some time in the near future.
While Project Happiness lasted for less than a month, it was a creative way for ASB to spread joy across the Carlmont campus.
Cumming said, “If we positively affected one person’s day or put a smile on one person’s face, then we did our job.”
Gemma • Apr 5, 2014 at 11:12 am
I’m so happy I participated! Getting to draw (mangled wannabe anime-type) pictures of the people I love, sending anonymous compliments which weren’t exactly anonymous but hopefully were still uplifting nonetheless…it was amazing, especially because I was and still am going through a rough patch in life. The Happiness Program has made so many people gleeful, euphoric, joyful…happy!