Happiest in Love

This is gonna be a good quarter. No, I take that back, it’s going to be a great quarter. I’m enrolled in the Psychology of Intimate Relationships (with seven of my friends not to mention) and I’ve already learned some valuable information about how our relationships affect our happiness. For better or for worse, it is our intimate relationships that affect our happiness more than any other aspect of our lives; more than our friendships, more than our jobs, more than our hobbies, and more than our health. While these other factors undeniably affect our happiness, our intimate relationships are the most significant.

We are learning a wealth of information in the class under the direction of Doctor Benjamin R. Karney. My hope is that I will be able to interview him for the blog so that he can share his professional opinion in addition to my summary of fun facts. We are reading his textbook and attending his lectures on a weekly basis; with over 400 students in the class you know that people are dying to know more!

Intimate relationships affect us universally. We have evolved to enjoy the experience of love, physiologically and psychologically. Love can make us extremely happy or it can make us depressingly devastated. How can something so wonderful also be so hurtful, and even with this knowledge, why do we always want and come back for more? This question and others, like why do some relationships last and why don’t others, are questions that I hope to answer throughout the quarter.

In the meantime, go and get your love!

Keep shining,

The Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook