“Are you really happy?” was the question asked to students Thursday in Pruis Hall by Matt Faley, a director of young adult and Catholic college ministries for the
Catholic Arch Diocese of Indianapolis.
In an event held by the Catholic Student Union and St. Francis of Assisi University Parish, Faley encouraged students to ponder their own happiness, and if they discovered they were not happy, to also ask themselves, “What’s holding you back?”
Faley, a Catholic who has been working for the ministry for six years, began his lecture with his own struggle with finding happiness.
“I left college as the most miserable person,” Faley said. “I had no identity.”
After college, Faley lived in his parents’ basement and worked at a waffle iron factory. It was then a friend brought Faley to a Bible study.
“I hadn’t been to a Bible study in years,” Faley said. “It was scary at first, but I could feel a burning inside me at the meetings.”
Christianity became the bridge that lead Faley to happiness.
“Jesus changed my life,” Faley said. “Jesus became the source of my happiness.”
For the religious and non-religious in the crowd, Faley had three questions students needed to have solid answers for to achieve happiness. What were you put on this Earth to do, what do you need to thrive as a human being and what makes you come alive?
Ryan Noll, a senior visual communications major, thought the questions were good advice.
“’What makes us come alive?’ really struck with me because I can relate it to my life,” Noll said. “Out of all the things Faley said, I think college students can achieve happiness by pursuing what we are passionate about.”
Noll said he enjoyed Faley's humor and deadpan delivery to keep students engaged and interested.
“His use of graphics and funny commentary on pop culture made the speech relatable and interesting,” Noll said.
In the end, though, Faley said he wants students to leave with a serious and better
understanding of achieving happiness even though it may be difficult.
“Fear is a real thing, and it makes achieving happiness more difficult,” Faley said. “You must not be afraid to let go and not let the world write your script for you. We all have desires that are burning in our hearts that make us come alive. Don’t run from it, brother and sisters.”
