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As we approach the second week of January, the resolutions we made on New Years begin to nag at us. Some of us are holding steadfast to the promises we made January 1st. While others are beginning to feel overwhelmed, by what it takes to commit to whatever it is they told themselves they'd commit to. I have a good one, a life shifting change that will require commitment and effort. I don't want to call it a resolution. I want to call it a priority.

In 2013 my priority is to find happiness.

What does it mean to be completely happy?

I know for a fact the happiness attached to a certain size will fade. I am talking about happiness that isn't tied down to reaching a certain goal.

The type of happy that makes you live in the moment. The type of happy that isn't changed by other peoples vibes or energy. The type that allows you to accept those around you for who they are. The type of happy that isn't affected by material gain or loss. The happy that transcends this world. The type of happy that Muhammad (pbuh) had.

Now I know your thinking I watched too many Oprah shows. Maybe I have. That is not the point. The point is where can this happiness be found? Can an average person find it? Do I have to go to the dessert and study with a Bedouin to find it? Which to me would be an amazing trip, but impossible at this point in my life. Since running away to a Bedouin tribe is impossible, lets see if this happiness can be found in Atlanta, Georgia.

Before we begin our journey let me give you a short bio of who I am, and what type of baggage I carry. We all carry baggage, but not all of us display it. So, here I am displaying my baggage to my dear and beloved readers. Or whoever has stumbled upon this.

I'm a mother, wife, and a student at GSU. I am old enough to be unsatisfied by the fact that Im still working towards my BA. However, I am working on convincing myself that it is ok. I married a great man had a child and now I am in school, so what? I don't have my BA YET! Shout out to Nadeem Ali, for trying to allow me to see that a degree isn't as big of an achievement as starting a family is. If you're wondering who he is, ask and I promise I will tell.

She is our first-born, and we love her to death. Her name is Jannah, but sometimes she isn't always literally JANNAH. She recently turned one! We have survived the first year. Survived is an understatement. Some days it felt as though I was gripping on to sanity with my teeth.

I look back at the months that have passed, and the sleepless nights seem foggy in mind. As though they were never there.

Jannahs first year on earth has proven to me that we are creatures that are constantly changing. When she was first born my husband and I didn't know how to soothe her. We became Google junkies. Now our first line of defense is "Google it". A year later we can attest to the change we see in ourselves and in her. We can soothe her in an instant (on most days). We know how to bathe her properly. We know when to feed her. The change came gradually. We adjusted to less sleep. Then she started sleeping better. Teething came; we had to readjust to less sleep. It's a constant flow of changes, and we are in for the ride.

I am mentioning this because it makes me question whether like life happiness is constantly changing within us. What I am trying to find is a constant state of happiness. Maybe some will categorize it as bliss, or spiritual elevation. Call it whatever you want to call it, all I know is I want to tap into it in 2013.

Must I leave the material world in order to find this type of happiness? I don't know yet, time will tell. For now I will take baby steps in order to not overwhelm myself. I am not setting myself up for failure, people!

My teeny tinny baby step for this week is to interview at least one person. I will ask this person what they think true happiness is and how it can be attained. I will put their advice into practice and share with my reader's inshallah.

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