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.
Fall 2025 Responses
Positive psychology has given insight into my life that did not seem apparent at the time, but I have grown to realize just how impactful it has been. It has allowed me to reframe my thinking around positive experiences and reminded me to live in the moment during arguably one of the most important times to do so. Oftentimes, I catch myself thinking, in the moment, about how I enjoy this experience enough to write and reflect on it in my journal. It has allowed me to realize that there is so much I have to be grateful for and that recognizing that gratitude instills a level of positive well-being that is hard to accomplish otherwise. This class has begun to rewire my mindset around my weaknesses, and it has taught me to embrace my strengths to overcome those weaknesses.
While in high school, I have been fortunate enough to take the course, positive psychology. This class is limited across the country; however, I believe that every student in high school should be given the opportunity to take this class. Positive Psychology allows people to enhance their overall well being, and be the best version of themselves. In the 21st century, everyone wants to become the best version of themselves, but because this class is limited, people are not exposed to the proper material. Students wanting to enhance their well being turn to social media for guidance, but that is the opposite of what people should do. Since taking this class in August, I have noticed an improvement in my mood, my well being, and even my vulnerability. For example, I got the courage to talk to my mom about how my therapist and I are not making any progress, and haven't been for a while. I feel like it's more of a complaining session of my life, instead of not only talking about my problems, but also finding solutions to move on. Before Positive Psychology, I would not know what I needed, nor how to find the solution to my problem, but since I have taken this class, I know what I need to succeed in life. Every teenager should be given the chance to be the best version of themselves, and the best way to do this is by having the opportunity to take positive psychology.
Positive Psychology has helped me have a more positive inward and outward view of life. The gratitude journal entries and positivity portfolio have helped me recognize the good in my life which improves my overall well-being and have a more positive self-view. Learning to have meaningful connections that create stronger relationships with others has been another part of this class that I appreciate. The impact of showing someone that you care about what they say has become apparent in my life as people reciprocate interest when you show interest in them, building a deeper connection.
Being in Mr. Ameen’s positive psychology class has made me more mindful of what and who I’m grateful for. I feel like I’ve been more appreciative of the things I have in my life and of my family, and how much they’ve helped me. It has also helped me with my life this semester and improved my attitude. I’m calmer and more focused than I was the past three years. It’s made me more mindful of what I’m doing in my spare time and to spend time with my family instead of playing video games all the time. I’ve been able to socialize more and make new friends.
Positive Psychology has impacted my life in many ways. By learning the importance of being in the moment and eliminating distractions that take away from moments that produce positive emotions, I have gained so many positive experiences that I might have missed. By doing something as simple as putting my phone away in the car, I have become so much closer to the important people in my life. Instead of watching another TikTok when I am with people, I’ve put my phone away and allowed myself to enter conversations with them. It is crazy to imagine how much more positivity a simple thing like this allows you to experience. Just by being in the moment, many aspects of my life have improved. Positive Psychology has helped me with so much more than just living in the moment. It has provided me with strategies and alternate viewpoints for stress, strengthened my relationships, and better prepared me for things like negative emotions and failure.
I have enjoyed this class because it makes me want to improve my life. I get motivated by working on the stuff that we do like our gratitude journal and writings because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good inside. This is probably the class that I have thought about the most outside of school, just because of its ability to be applicable to our lives and how much I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve also really enjoyed how challenging this class can be for me and make me feel vulnerable about writing certain stuff. I hope to continue with some gratitude writing to start each day because it has really grown on me. I can see the effects that some of the stuff we’ve learned in this class has grown on me like being mindful, improving relationships, and just how to improve ourselves.
Positive Psychology has helped me better understand what I'm feeling. Before I took this class, I used to think I was crazy for the things I was feeling, and I felt like there was something wrong with me. Not only has this class helped me identify what I'm feeling, but it has also given me tools and skills to reduce negative emotions and improve positive ones. I think it is so much easier to focus on the bad things that happen to the point where we let it control us. This course helps redirect your focus to the positive things. One of the things that helped me focus on the positive things was the gratitude journal. The gratitude journal also affected my relationships positively because I learned how to be more grateful for people in my life than I was before.
Positive psychology was a class I was looking forward to taking, and I am glad I did. This class has helped me understand more about myself, and also understand that perfection isn’t the key to accomplishment or bettering yourself. I’ve learned to be mindful and the importance of that. One thing that stood out to me was seeing myself change through the practices we do in class and the class discussions. After learning how to be mindful, especially in this class, I’ve learned to approach situations better. This class was good for me; it made me more curious about myself, and I overall enjoyed learning.
By taking this positive psychology course, I have learned how to be a better person to myself and others. I learned why I do the things I do, and how that impacts me in daily life. I have learned how to experience more positive emotions and be a well-rounded person. I have become more comfortable with the uncomfortable. I have also decreased my screen time, connected more with nature, put more effort into relationships, and built better habits. The information I learned in positive psychology this semester will stick with me for the rest of my life, leading me to experience better well-being.
Positive psychology has impacted me in so many ways. I now know so much about myself, more specifically, my habits and why I do them. Learning about the negative things I do daily and strategies to stop them has immensely improved my life in every aspect. Not only have I reduced the bad, but I learned the importance of building up good relationships and experiences so that when the inevitable negatives do happen, they don’t hurt as much. Being more emotionally aware and intelligent due to things I have learned in the class made me happier, healthier, and hopeful for my future.
I think the biggest thing that has impacted me in positive psychology is how to build better relationships. We talked about what makes stronger relationships with people, and I think it’s shown me how I need to act to make people feel important. I’ve been able to take a step back and see the relationships in my life differently. I know how I can build stronger relationships, and I can see that some things in relationships aren’t worth my time. I tend to hold grudges, but I think that spending my energy on more important things will give me more mental clarity and I can then spend my time on the relationships that are more important to me. I usually spend a lot of energy thinking about how someone else is thinking, but that can be exhausting and I know that I can’t just expect people to react the same way I do.
It has helped me notice my cognitive distortions and work against them a lot. Before this class I never really thought about why we do stuff, however that is a big thing of what we are learning in positive psychology, which makes it easier to recognize them and gives you tips on how to not fall into the pattern of doing them.
Positive psychology has allowed me to change my perspective on my day-to-day life. When I do face adversity, experience a “failure”, or am just having an off day, I’ve noticed I have a much easier time recovering from it. Realizing I always have the ability to bounce back makes each challenge less stressful and gives me motivation to keep going. I’ve started working on creating a life for myself that I don't feel I need to constantly escape from; previously, I had myself convinced that school’s too stressful, working 5 days is overdoing it, the gym every day is draining me, but now I have allowed myself to remember why it is i do so much now. I'm not lazy, I just have a set, constant routine that is in itself draining, and I expect a lot from myself. I think it shows here, but positive psychology has given me a new perspective on the world and myself, and has allowed me to process things in different ways, as well as process more overall.
Positive Psychology has impacted me by teaching me how to think differently about stress in my life as well as how to experience more well being in my life. Positive Psych has also helped me become more mindful like being out in public without pulling out my phone while waiting in a line or when there is an uncomfortable situation. Positive Psychology has been my favorite class I've taken throughout all of high school and everything I have learned so far will stick with me for the rest of my life like how I've learned about my relationships with others and how to experience more positivity in those relationships.
Positive psychology has impacted me in various ways. To start, I feel it has impacted all of my relationships for the better. It has taught me how to keep a relationship healthy and balance many things with it. Reading my choice book on relationships has also provided me with so much information to do so and I think the choice book was a great way for me to be able to learn even more. Positive psychology has also helped me with my procrastination. We learned a bit about that in this class and it has helped me to become so much more motivated to get stuff done and it feels great to have been able to reach the point where I procrastinate less because I have always really struggled with procrastination. Another way it has impacted me is mindfulness. Learning more about mindfulness and the true deeper purpose of it has helped me to really live more in the moment of the positive events in my life, not that I never did before, but it has definitely helped to improve that. Positive well-being plays a role as well that I can’t automatically jump to the negative conclusion before something happens and to tie along with that, optimism, that if a bad event happens, its not going to last forever and I will have the ability to bounce back stronger.
Positive psychology has impacted me in many ways. This class has helped me find myself mentally and given me strategies to keep me grounded in times of stress. For example, when I am experiencing things like procrastination, I now have strategies to help me get past roadblocks like this. I have also gained a much more positive mindset in everything I do. This class has noticeably helped me improve my optimism with just about everything, including sports, the gym, and school. Overall, this class has been very beneficial for my mental health by bringing up my default happiness and providing me with strategies to get it back up when I’m down.
Positive Psychology has been one of the most useful and accomplished classes I have taken in high school. The tools we use in class not only help us in our personal lives, but also challenge me to really make that positive change in my life. I have noticed myself displaying gratitude and mindfulness more often than I used to, as now I fully understand the importance of it to my overall well-being. The resources used in this class cover issues that can prevent us from living a positive life, such as cell phone usage, procrastination, the way we view failure, and much more, while giving tips on how to tackle or work through these issues. Overall, I have found myself remaining much more joyful and being able to feel more positive emotions through stressful times, which I had struggled with in the past.
Positive Psychology has positively impacted my overall well-being. Specifically, I feel my relationships have improved. Before, I’d barely express gratitude to the people around me. But, as I’ve started practicing gratitude for myself and recognizing the positives, I’ve been finding myself expressing that gratitude more often. This has made my relationships feel impactful. Additionally, I’ve learned how to maximize the moments I spend with others. Instead of turning away and giving passive responses, I put my full attention into what they’re saying. All of this has made my relationships closer and made me feel better about my relationships with the people within my life.
Positive Psychology has taught me how to process and deal with negative emotions in general. Being exposed to the effects of rumination and other reactions that people have to negativity has made me self-aware. Rumination, along with other distortions running through my head, has helped me recognize them and stop myself from indulging. Being more aware of myself has also increased my empathy when dealing with conflicts in relationships. I can understand why that person might’ve acted or responded in that manner, so I can react appropriately. I have also taken the techniques taught in Positive Psychology and tried to implement them into my daily life, such as taking moments to be fully in the moment and take in my surroundings, as well as how my body is feeling.
Positive psychology has made a substantial impact on how I interact with people. I have gained a new perspective on how people think and why they might make the choices they do, which has led me to understand situations better and to be more thoughtful. Positive psychology has also taught me to step away from myself and see the bigger picture. I am able to be more present in my life and recognize things that I am grateful for that I may not have been able to notice before. Learning about positive psychology and becoming more mindful has allowed me to be aware and has brought me more happiness.
When I first signed up for this class, I honestly took it to fill up my schedule and because my friends were taking it. What I didn’t know was that this class would actually affect me personally, and it allows me to be grateful for signing up for this class. If I had never taken this class, I wouldn’t have been able to better relationships with peers, become more mindful, or even just have an overall better well-being. Positive psychology has allowed me to learn the perspective of not only myself, but others as well. This class has also allowed me to better myself in baseball. It has taught me to deal with failure, overcome adversity, and even just be grateful to be able to play. It has helped me perform better and it has helped me perform better in the classroom as well.
Positive psychology has taught me how to start solving a lot of the things about me that I saw as “flaws”. Between the daily gratitude reflection and all of the other self-reflection activities, I have learned so much about myself and about the importance of positivity. I have loved taking this class because I have found it to be an interesting and important topic that I think many people aren’t aware of.
Positive psychology has impacted me by giving me different perspectives on how to respond to failure and how to better prepare myself for future stressors. Throughout the course we talked about hard work and failure. This part of the course was the most impactful because it directly helped me with my sport. It made me realize that failure in my eyes isn’t necessarily failure, but a learning experience. This will help me prepare for future games because I can go into them with a clear mind and ready to play my absolute best without worrying about past failures.
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