THE HAPPINESS CLUB by Joanne Petitti

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Management and my MBA in Marketing as a part-time student employed full-time. I felt like I was one of those life long students. After many years of school, I thought I would never ever want to go back. Until one day, I received a Sacred Heart University course book entitled "Personal and Professional Development," "Come Think Again." Well, this piqued my interest, and so I thumbed through it. What caught my interest the most was a four evening seminar entitled "Personal Power and Success Through Happiness." This course was going to demonstrate stress-reduction techniques and emotional management.

The past year had been a personal struggle for me, both professionally and emotionally. I was faced with losing my job, the pressure of finding a new job, learning a new job, and losing a good relationship. I felt this course would be something that could help me through some of the emotions and stress I was experiencing. I also suggested to a friend of mine who was experiencing the same personal struggle to take the course with me.

Lionel Ketchian, the course instructor, enlightened me on using the strategy of Happiness to overcome life’s obstacles. Like school, sometimes we need to relearn how to eliminate our struggles, fears and personal problems. The four people that were in that Seminar developed a sense of togetherness and confidence. As we drew near to the last session of the course, we all felt a sense of disappointment that the classes were coming to an end. Overall, the course was definitely a life revelation. The personal happiness we had found as a group made us feel we wanted more. That’s when Lionel suggested that it would be great to share what we had discovered within ourselves, and to be able to share it with others. That sparked some interest and excitement within our small group, but it was Lionel that had the passion and drive to make it happen.

On January 13th, in a great room at Tommy’s Restaurant, we had our first Happiness Club meeting. Despite the snowstorm, our first meeting was quite a success. I felt that there were many people that were interested in acquiring inner strength and the pursuit of happiness. It felt great to be a part of something that can help spread Happiness within our lives.