Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.
When I was a child I used to read books by Gerald Durrell who founded Jersey Zoo. He had a job collecting animals for zoos and for a long time that is what I wanted to do. Later when I was a teenager I had a fantastic English teacher called Mrs. Stafford. Her enthusiasm made me decide to be a writer.