Journey to Joy

Often, the status symbols society reveres are achievements or material goods: jobs and degrees; houses and cars; shoes and jewelry. But what does a well-lived life look like? What constitutes a productive life? Does that mean hitting milestones? Realizing goals? And on this journey, where does joy fit in?

In a joint class within the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication, Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Desmond Upton Patton invites students to seek fulfillment in less tangible forms and dream big in Journey to Joy: Designing a Happier Life.

“Joy, for me, is the ability to see and understand the future, the now, and your history—and how you can leverage that collective to have a meaningful and happy life,” Patton says. This is an especially important skill for graduate students going into social work, he says. “To be able to consider joy and the journey to joy as an everyday practice for your own self-care is critically important to be stay in this profession.”

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