Emmi Highness 

It’s been a minute since we’ve done a “What’s Making Me Happy” and it’s safe to say that I’m consistent with the things that bring me joy. So, in traditional fashion, here is a paragraph of me fangirling for various reasons. First, and most importantly, I will, hopefully, be going to a Billie Eilish concert in March. I bought these tickets in May of 2021 and now, almost a year later, the day is coming. Second, Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis announced that a Teen Wolf movie will be coming out sometime in the future. Other releases I’m excited about are the movie adaptations of Percy Jackson and The Selection. This year has been a good year for movies, TV, and music. With Red (Taylor’s Version), Spiderman: No Way Home, Tick Tick…Boom, and Encanto being some of my favorites. I was also very privileged to see Hamilton on Broadway this Christmas and it was, in short, life-changing. On another note, what’s making me happy is the future. Although I’m terrified of change and am going to miss my friends and family like crazy, I am openly welcoming the challenge of college. Here’s to finishing out my last year at Helena High.  

Maisie Evans 

 Now that 2022 has started, and 2021 is officially over, I have realized there are so many things that bring me joy. While 2021 was an insane and crazy year, there were still things that brought positivity into my life. For starters, music! My favorite bands and artists right now are Maggie Rogers, Mazzy Star, and Tom Petty. Listening to music is a really good way to connect with yourself. Another thing that brings me joy currently is rock and ice climbing. I have been rock and ice climbing for several years now, but as I have grown up, I have started to see the real significance of it and connecting with the Earth and life in a unique way. Other than climbing, hiking is a simple way for me to get exercise as well as fuel my body with happiness. Although there are all these THINGS that bring me joy, my life simply would not be complete without my friends and family. I am incredibly thankful to have many close friends who enjoy spending time with me and going on adventures. My family as well supports those adventures, and they are one of the many sources of my happiness. So, looking over what really brings me joy, I couldn’t pinpoint just one thing: all these things fuel my life.  

Annabelle Heun 

A few weeks ago, I heard David Bowie’s song “Life on Mars” during a movie trailer. I had not heard it in months, but ever since I saw the trailer, I have been obsessively playing it while dancing around my house like a lunatic. It has brought me an immense amount of joy, and it is honestly the only thing I have been listening to for weeks on end. In fact, I might actually see the movie at some point just because they played that masterpiece of a song during their trailer. Over the weekend, I also really enjoyed watching the tail-end of some of the gorgeous sunrises we have been getting. Sunsets and sunrises are some of the things that I love most, so rolling out of bed to the sight of cotton-candy pink clouds has really improved my mood. Lastly, I have fallen deep into the Encanto Tik Tok rabbit hole, which has delighted me with unexpected yet amazing memes. One of my favorites so far is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sung in a Toad impression (yes, as in the Mario Franchise’s Toad). After cry-laughing at that for a few minutes, I finally got the happiness boost I needed to go back and study for my finals. All in all, I’m just trying to take life one day at a time and enjoy the little things as they come. 🙂 

Will Eaton 

Through the midst of figuring out my first round of finals, there have been a few things bringing me joy in these troublesome times. And I say a few because schooling has drained me of happiness. New episodes of Euphoria are finally coming back after about 2 years. Though I’m somewhat of a new fan I’m just as excited and ready for the extreme and unnecessary drama that comes with their teenage angst. The soundtracks have kept me afloat and furthered the mindset that I am, in fact, the main character, which has not been the best for my ego. I also recently tested to see if I still know how to read! It’s been a minute since I last picked up a book and as I blew the dust off my tbr book stack, I finally read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The large amounts of praise it has been getting recently, especially on Tik Tok are not by accident and it has quickly become one of my favorite books… ever. Florence + the Machine decided to become my hyper fixation along with Spiderman for the month of January? So, watching the 2 battle for the top spot has really been quite fascinating. Of course, my family and close friends have not fallen through the cracks and have helped immensely in these dark ages of school. I’m excited to see how the year progresses and what new challenges and opportunities come! 🙂 

Jackie Collver 

School has been turning into less and less of a positive place for me as this school year has progressed. Now that finals are close to being over, though, I’m less stressed out. I’ve also filled out my housing application for the University of Montana, so I’m going to be in the dorms in seven months! This is making me super happy! Finally, my little brother has been following me around and playing in my room while I study more, and he’s the best little study buddy I could have. He’s also been more eager to give me hugs and grab my finger to tug me around on his little two-year-old adventures. Having him around and the continued support from the rest of my family always makes me so happy and grateful!  

Ethan Taylor 

I have never done a “What’s Making Me Happy” paragraph, and quite frankly I’m shocked that a high school student could manage to write an entire paragraph about happiness. What is currently bringing me joy is the YouTuber Kurtis Conner. I am a proud citizen of Kurtis-town, and I will gladly devote hours of my day to watching Mr. Conner discussing Neil Breen films and saying, “I hardly know her” after every word ending in “er.” Perhaps one day I will be able to achieve Conner’s status as an icon of comedy. If you have never watched a video on Kurtis Conner’s channel, I recommend “Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie” or “Barbie vs. Bratz.” Every joke Kurtis Conner delivers is truly a treat and he can do no wrong in my eyes (except giving up his iconic extra greeting). As well as being hilarious, he is one of the very few people on the planet who can pull off a mullet. As well as his YouTube channel, Conner has a podcast called Very Really Good and it is perfect to listen to in the background while I do homework. Kurtis Conner could evict me from Kurtis-town, and I would still worship the ground he walks on. Thank you for bringing a funny twist to my everyday life, Mr. Conner.  

Aurora Talbot 

What’s currently making me happy is Speech and Debate. All the interaction with new people at tournaments and participating in an event that strikes my interest in such a way is just wonderful. My piece right now for Dramatic Interpretation is from Phantom of the Opera and I just have so much fun acting out Erik. He is big, dramatic, and has so much emotional range that it just gives me so much joy. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it’s like songs, and singing along to them. Nobody can sing to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and not be really happy afterward; it’s like that. I also really enjoy talking about how much I HATE bones. The nuchal crest? Terrible. I can’t unfeel it. Bones in your forearm cross? Horrific. The giant hole in the bottom of your skull? Could you NOT? 

Jasper Alexander

What brings me joy is a large list. For one, I am really enjoying Newspaper class and getting to write about what I want to for a grade, and I think that makes me pretty lucky. I also really like movies; my favorites are The Lord of The Rings series, Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal, and Django which I think is one of the best westerns of all time. I also like people; I like being social and just talking in general. The last thing that I really enjoy is reading. As you already know, I am in the middle of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, but I loved many other books like Call of The Wild and The Legend of Sleepy Hallow.