Life, Liberty . . .

And the pursuit of happiness. Those are the words in the ever famous, oft quoted Declaration of Independence.

Now, I'm not going to hide it. I used to be one of those kids who should shake their fists at the world because dear god, why were my parents not born with mind-blowing connections? Why wasn't I born with a 8792 IQ? Why don't I find big sacks of money everywhere? Why am I not as pretty as that girl over there? Isn't there something in the Declaration of Independence that guarantees me happiness or success or something? What a load of bologna! I came to the only plausible, reasonable conclusion: America sucked, my life sucked, and it was not my fault.

In a moment of lucidity sometime later, I actually thought to look up the Declaration of independence. To my surprise, I realized that my brain had so conveniently left out a word. The Declaration did not say, "Life, liberty, and happiness" but "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Now, as a decently educated young woman, of course I knew that "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was the correct version. But, I had to failed to realize exactly what those words entailed. Plainly stated, I was looking for luck. I wanted things to be easier/faster/better/just cooler in general.

I still do. It's a very human sort of sentiment.

But, I now have the words "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" hanging on a small Post-It on my bed frame. The word "pursuit" is underlined several times , highlighted, and surrounded by a small group of lopsided stars. It's a silly sort of note, and my friends just think I'm being a history geek, but it keeps me decently happy and upbeat.

If I ever write a self help book, I'm pretty sure this will be tip #2.