On Friday and Saturday I was in DC, and I had fun & was happy. Then, from Sunday until Wednesday, I was sick and stayed in bed. I was bored and felt depressed because with all the time I had I started to worry about the problems in my life. Then on Thursday I felt better, and met up with my two best friends. Friday was also a nice day, and I met up with more friends. On Saturday, I spent time with my mom and sister. That night, we went to anastasi, the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. It starts at 10 pm and lasts to around 1 am. Hundreds and hundreds of people gather in the streets outside the church to celebrate. Anastasi leads up to the declaration "Xristos anestis!" ("Christ has risen!") by the priest, and a response of "Alithos anestis!" ("He has indeed risen!") by the crowd, followed by songs, and fire crackers going off. It's a lot of fun, and people you don't even know will come up to you, hug you, kiss you on both cheeks, and say "Xristos anestis" and "Kalo pascha" ("Happy Easter"). It reminds me of Greece because the spirit is there, and not a word of English can be heard. Especially this Saturday, it was so warm out that during anastasi I actually felt like I was in Greece. That was probably my happiest time in break, although others came close. Then Sunday was Easter, and me and my mom cooked and baked all morning. We took the food to my cousins house and celebrated with my family. I could finally eat meat after 40 days of fasting, including a strict fast during holy week (no milk or dairy products either). It was nice to see my family, although there was some drama that was annoying. Overall, I had a good break with the exception of the days I was sick. I was happy most of the time, and I noticed I was my happiest when I was with people I care about, or doing something I cared about. I think that the whole time, even though I wasn't happy on some days, I was emotionally healthy because I was responding to the situation I was in.
That's why I think that you don't need to be constantly happy in order to be emotionally healthy. Someone who is happy at their son's funeral is probably not emotionally healthy. Someone who is happy to receive painful chemo treatments is not emotionally healthy. I think emotional health is reacting to the situation around you without losing self control, and without letting it run your life.
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