Student Responses--How Well-being Strategies Can Help You
To increase positive well-being, one can learn from others' experiences to gain perspective; and, by learning about others' experiences, one can gain an understanding of what can be done to increase positive well-being. Each semester, students in my high school positive psychology class write a response to a very simple question—how has the study of positive psychology impacted you? Below are some of the most recent collections of these responses. I hope they can give others hope that change is possible.
—See past student submissions at the bottom of the page.
Spring 2026 Responses
For the second semester, I took Positive Psychology, and it was very beneficial for me. This class has taught me about how to improve my positive well-being, and there are definitely a few things that I will take away from it. For example, I have learned about mindfulness and how to use it day-to-day. I have already seen a difference because I am now aware of my thoughts and actions. This has helped me with relationships because I put myself into the other person's perspective, and this has helped me with my self-talk and keeping me in the right headspace. I have found how to be grateful for the little things and think about my stress as a good thing or motivator. I think other students should take this class to help them grow as a person and achieve positive well-being.
Positive psychology has impacted me in ways that have helped me to improve my well-being throughout the semester, and has also given me ways to maintain good well-being after the class is over. One thing that has helped me is the practice of mindfulness. When I started this class, I was not very mindful at all, even though I didn’t necessarily realize it. I was constantly on my phone, not paying attention to my surroundings, not focused on those around me. Since learning about how mindfulness can positively impact my well-being, I have been much more intentional about how I interact with others. I have started putting my phone away more and having more conversations with people, and I think this has also positively impacted my relationships with people because I have been able to get to know people better and form better relationships. Working on being more of an active listener has helped me to get to know people better and learn more about them. Something else that has helped my well-being is being more grateful. I started writing things down that I am grateful for every morning and every night, 1 thing in the morning, and 1 thing before I go to bed each night. This has helped me to realize that even on bad days, that I have plenty to be grateful for and that little things don’t have to dictate my attitude. Positive psychology has helped my resilience, knowing that not everything bad is going to have a bad ending, and I have been able to persist through difficulties easier.
Taking Positive Psychology has helped me a lot this semester; I have really seen big improvements in my life and wellbeing. One big change I noticed happened from doing a gratitude journal every morning in class. I noticed it became easier for me to see the good in my life, and on days when I didn’t have the class I would still think about the things I was grateful for. My increased gratitude has improved my overall wellbeing by helping me be more positive in everyday life and finding happiness from the small and simple things in my life. Another big concept that I learned more about and put my focus on was mindfulness. At the beginning of the semester I really learned what mindfulness meant and consisted of. I have always strived to live in the moment and rid my life of distractions, and learning this concept really helped me learn more about it and make it a big focus in my life. My increased focus on mindfulness has helped me to find happiness in more things in my life and has really helped me to be more present and engaged around others. Overall, Positive Psychology has really improved my wellbeing and I will continue to keep a gratitude journal and focus on my mindfulness.
Positive Psychology was a class I’ve been wanting to take since freshman year and had the opportunity to take my senior year. However, I am really glad I took this class senior year because it helped me learn how to manage my time, emotions, and well-being throughout my senior year but also leading up to going to college. My biggest takeaway from this class was learning how to be more mindful. Senior year is a great time to learn this skill because there are so many things you do for the last time whether you realize it or not and it’s important to be present in everything you do. This helped me create a lot of memories and remember them better. Before this class, I would always look forward to the next thing and just try to get through things to make it to the next. I learned that to conserve memories with others better I need to enjoy every moment and stay in the present moment. I also learned that your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. This helped me understand that emotions are very important and we need to pay attention to them and act on them accordingly just as we would to a physical injury. I learned how to better manage my stress and anxiety when things came up. Overall, this is a class I would 100% retake and a class that everyone of every age can benefit from. I will forever take the concepts I learned in this class and apply them to my day to day life.
How has positive psychology impacted me? Over the course of the last 5 months, I have been in this class, and I feel like I've really improved. My perspective on everyday things I got so used to just walking by had changed, and I started to notice everything. I notice how my relationships affect me, things that bring me positive well-being, and things that bring me down, but I can find good in them to keep me up. This course has opened my mind and changed my perspective to a more positive, engaged, and in-the-moment mindset. I have seen more engagement, and less stress in things I used to care less about.
Positive psychology has had a big impact on me this semester. I have learned the importance of taking care of myself and the importance of finding meaning in my life. Being able to reflect back on the things that I am grateful for has shown me all of the good in my life and has helped me find the meaning in my life. I have worked hard to find more meaning in my life throughout this course and I have seen a big impact in my life. Being able to focus more on my relationships has helped me strengthen my connections with others and appreciates the people who support me. I have also become more aware of my thoughts and how having a positive mindset can influence the way that I act. Instead of always focusing on my negative situations, I try to always look for the good in any hard time. Overall positive psychology has helped me before, more mindful of my life, more grateful and motivated to continue these learning strategies.
Positive psychology has impacted me by helping me to change my perspective on how I tend to think about things. I feel like it made me notice how unaware of my thoughts that I was or how often I would think negatively and not realize it. I also think this course has given me some knowledge into why I do certain things as well, and how there is something behind moments of negative thought, boredom, or rumination, and I have found that useful in being able to lessen that negative thinking and improve things like motivation, energy, relationships, and more.
Before joining positive psychology, I had no idea it even existed. It’s true that I’ve gone to therapy, but I didn’t know this version of psychology was behind it. Well, perhaps not completely, but it plays a significant role. I had learned many things, such as joy won’t be given to you on a silver platter; you have to work for it. You have to learn how to be mindful, meaning being aware of your surroundings and being grateful for what you have in front of you. Don’t be envious of the things you don’t have; be happy with what you do have. Laziness is a ‘fake’ word. When you are being lazy, it simply means you have a lack of motivation. There is always something blocking you from that sense of motivation or achievement. Once you figure out what, you can have that sense of achievement. That’s what positive psychology is all about. Being mindful of your feelings and surroundings to make your life better.
Positive psychology has helped me by looking at the other side of things. I have always looked at the negative side of things as soon as something happens and not even think about the positive. I always assumed that something bad will always happen so I tried to avoid things that could hurt me. Thanks to positive psychology, I realized to look more at the happier stuff in my life. I’ve started to look at the positive side of things and I’ve never been more happy. The first few weeks of this class, I was unsure of Mr. Ameen’s logic about why we were doing the positive portfolio and gratitude journal. But later in the semester, I started realizing why we were doing it. I constantly think of the things I am grateful for and how certain situations make me feel.
This year positive psychology has taught me a lot about well being and it has taught me how the things I experience are regular and we went through various ways on how to help yourself improve in those areas. I have learned a lot about my personal traits and how they affect my well-being, and how they impact those around me. One of the most important things for me was learning about positive emotions. I liked to see how small emotions I might not have really realized were good. Learning about these emotions have also helped me see the good in small things and helped me realize how they have a more positive outlook in life. The last things I really took away from this class are how to keep a strong relationship and how much they can help you grow and give you a better life.
Positive psychology has greatly improved my life because I have a better understanding of and appreciation for what makes my life good. Since starting the class, I’ve had a couple really hard events in my personal life that normally would have greatly impacted my mental and physical health. However, this class has required me to come in on the hardest days and recognize the good aspects of my life, even when I didn’t feel like there were any. Having that gratitude in my life every so often has allowed me to have a deeper appreciation for my support system and a much more thorough recognition of what positively impacts my life. I am incredibly grateful for this class and the way it has impacted my life. Positive psychology should be a class offered in every school.
Positive psychology helped me to be more self-aware of my surroundings. I learned to live in the moment more and savor moments in my life by limiting technology and increasing the activities I love that provide me with a sense of accomplishment and happiness. By writing in my gratitude journal and positivity portfolio, I learned to reflect on my most positive emotions and to reduce any negative bias I may have had. In this course, I also gained knowledge about building relationships and having a good ratio of positive to negative moments to maintain a healthy, strong relationship, which gave me perspective about doing more activities to increase the positive emotions and moments I have with my family, boyfriend, and friends.
Positive psychology has impacted me in ways I haven't fully realized myself. With lots of reflection, although at first I thought it wasn't making a difference, it really did. My habits and behavior, and the way I see myself, have changed for the better. For example, I've changed my negative self-talk to being more realistic and not putting myself down. I struggled with how to find solutions in conflict. I believe it was because of my lack of understanding of the people around me, but now that I know and I'm educated on how other people react and feel, I can be more connected, and I can further understand the way people act and why. Positive psychology isn't just any class that teaches you skills that you may or may not use in a few years, but it teaches you skills you can use forever, and for that, I am grateful.
Positive Psychology has allowed me to view my life and the events throughout in a different way than before. I have been able to grow from situations instead of letting them hold me down or set me back. But more than anything else, learning about the Positive Psychology application to my life has allowed me to grow the most in my optimism. I have learned to come back from hardships with a better mindset and I am able to seek the good parts in bad situations. Overall, Positive Psychology has given me a more open mind and I see situations in a bit of a brighter way.
I believe that positive psychology has affected me in many ways; mostly I am more aware of how my actions affect myself and those around me. I feel like during and after this class I have learned to be more aware and perspective in my life, learning what's good for me and I'm ready to bring it with me in my life.
Positive psychology has made me more aware of my own feelings in the moment and more in control of the actions I take in response. It’s helped me to identify important strategies to work on my weaknesses and face my fears. A course like this could help improve anyone’s life, as we all have mental struggles we wish we could overcome. This course can help to change those wishes into actionable goals.
I think that the Positive Psychology course has helped me by helping me look at the brighter side of things rather than “ruminating” on the bad. Before I took this class, I feel like I rarely focused on the good things that I have accomplished and only dwelled on the things that I did wrong in those situations. This caused me to not be interested in daily activities and not be as positive on a daily basis. Mr. Ameen’s positive psychology class has helped me learn that I can do hard things, and I accomplish things everyday that I never focus on. This class redirected my outlook on my overall well-being making it easier for me to find the good in things. Overall, this course has helped me be a better person and has helped me take better care of myself.
Positive psychology has taught me the steps I can take to lead a more fulfilling life that will optimize my well-being, both now and in the future. Throughout this course, I have learned valuable lessons regarding happiness and what exactly impacts the sense of joy that one experiences day-to-day, also giving me the opportunity to internalize these lessons and implement them into my life. After implementing these lessons, such as gratitude, flow, optimism, and more, I feel more fulfilled as an individual and I have begun to feel more satisfied and in-control of my life, as my happiness has noticeably increased. I think the most impactful part of this course was learning exactly what makes one happy and what people often misconceive about what makes them truly happy, some of which I myself have fallen victim to, but now I can shift my perspective to value these misconceptions less with the intention of improving my happiness. I think everyone should understand the concept of positive psychology and work to implement the important lessons taught throughout their everyday lives, as they pave the way for immense internal reflection and external expression, benefit both oneself and the world around them.
Positive psychology has really helped me realize how much control I have over my well-being and how much I can make a difference in my thinking. This class has really helped me learn mindfulness and engagement. I never realize how much time I waste and how much my well-being is impacted because of my lack of mindfulness. I have really learned how to enjoy life more. This class made a huge difference in my senior year experience because I made a point to slow down and be more mindful and this really helped me enjoy life and make good memories despite the stressors that come with this year. Also, I really learned how to take my anxiety and turn it into something that can be positive and actually help me rather than hurt me. I learned how to not get caught up with cognitive distortions and learn to rewire my brain and think differently. These tools will help me forever and I am so beyond grateful I had the opportunity to take this class.
Positive psychology has had a greater impact on my life than I would have ever expected it to. It has allowed me to better understand the way I feel and react towards specific events that occur in my life, both in and out of the classroom environment. The course has taught me how to navigate the emotions that dictate my daily life and better grasp why I might feel the way I do. It’s taught me to remove certain negative stigmas and ideas from my overall outlook on life and in doing so, showed me how to view my emotions and actions in a more positive and less destructive way. Positive psychology has helped me to become more reflective and slow down and pay more attention to how I feel and what I experience, even on a seemingly normal day. It has given me the opportunity to be grateful and dedicate more time to think about all that goes right in my life, showing me goodness in things that I would have never acknowledged before. The class as a whole has been incredibly beneficial to my wellbeing and health and I would recommend the course to anyone looking to get more in tune with how to get in touch with and improve their wellness.
Positive Psychology has given me an incredible amount of insight into my life and others’. It has helped improve my relationships drastically. I better understand how to understand and connect with other people in a way that benefits both of us. It has also helped me understand what I need to succeed in life. I understand how to use my own character strengths, which helps me be the best version of myself. I also have been able to apply a lot of concepts, like mindfulness, to my life which has drastically improved my engagement with my activities. For example, I have been more engaged at practices and more able to leave emotions from the day behind to focus on what is in front of me. Overall, positive psychology has improved my mindset and outlook on life as well as improved me as a person.
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