We asked some of our favorite folks what makes them happy and why?

Amanda Libby | Wedding Photographer

There are so many factors that play into happiness but I think waking up every single day with gratitude for my life, my husband, my community, and my career is what allows me to feel happy every day.  From the moment I started photography to ten years later, what makes me happy is the ability to connect with clients and capture their story.  It just so happens that working from home in my pajamas most days with my pup at my feet and working wedding days alongside my husband also make me extremely happy. I find comfort and independence in the flexibility of working for myself and having a partner in life that I get to also share my business with.  I’m grateful I found a career that blends so many of my favorite things together. I truly feel like I’m living my dream life. Read more>>

Daniela Vicentini | Journalist, Chef and Triathlete

There are 3 things that make me happy in this life: Food, my job and training for triathlons. Food has always been my passion and this is why I studied to be a chef, my job is marketing and consulting in the food industry so it’s the perfect combination of both of my careers and last but not least training gives me a smile every morning. Each day I get to wake up and watch Miami’s beautiful sunrise, whether it’s swim, bike or run I feel very blessed to be able to do this every single day. It is the struggle during each training that motivates me to be better and to get stronger. Read more>>

Katherine Chacon | Art Critic and Curator, Writer

I am going to be very frank. For a long time, external things made me happy: having a partner, professional success, a harmonious family environment, and that kind of things. But from some years ago I have been absolutely happy for no reason. Of course, life is full of contingencies, beautiful moments, others regular and some very bad, but I have managed to build within myself a kind of beautiful interior garden where there is always the greenery of happiness. It is the happiness of being alive and being able to experience the life. I am convinced that happiness is a decision, a training of the mind in which you begin to build that fortress of unassailable joy. It must be defended, of course. To human beings and especially in some intellectual circles–where we have been trained in complaint and criticism–we find it “interesting” to look for the negative aspect of the life. Read more>>