August 26, 2019 • hometowns
Hannah Brown Writes About Why It's Important to 'Choose Joy'
Hannah Brown is differentiating between “happiness” and “joy.”
The former Bachelorette took to Instagram on Monday morning to explain why she can’t stand when people ask if she’s feeling “happy.” She posted a personal note on her Instagram Story that encapsulates her decision to “choose joy.”
She wrote, “I want to share today’s devotion with you guys. A lot of people ask me, ‘are you happy?’ these days. And to be honest I hate that question, because I’m not some of the time. Nothing about some of the circumstances I went through recently made me happy.”
Hannah explained that she sometimes has “moments of happy, but happiness is fleeting.”
Despite all of that, it’s clear that Hannah still maintains a pretty positive outlook thanks to focusing on “joy.” She elaborated in her note, “I choose joy. And joy is so much better. It infiltrates the soul. It’s healing. Joy is the goodness of God cleansing my heart.”
She concluded, “Regardless of circumstances, I pray that today we all choose a little joy.”
Hannah’s Monday “devotion” note mirrors many other messages she’s shared recently. Ever since her time on “The Bachelorette,” Hannah has been open about her personal struggles and the major life transitions she’s been trying to cope with.
On August 12, for instance, she wrote a lengthy Instagram caption about how she’s been “struggling.” She composed, “Honest policy: I’m struggling. Life is so different. Since last August, I’ve been a pageant queen, a bachelor contestant, and the Bachelorette. I’ve been in love with multiple people, I got engaged, I broke off an engagement, and I shared it all with millions of people. My faith has been questioned by thousands who don’t know my heart, and my transparency with my decisions has labeled me promiscuous.”
Hannah also wrote about how she’s “living on my own for the first time” and trying to adjust to a new life in Los Angeles. “I miss my friends and family who have watched my life explode. I feel guilty because I don’t have the time or emotional capacity to fill each of them in on my life right now,” she wrote.
One week later, Hannah uploaded a photo of herself dancing on the beach and once again urged people to “choose joy.” One Instagram user commented, “hope you’re TRULY happy and not pretending for IG.”
The 24-year old replied, “I’m not pretending for Instagram. That doesn’t help me or others. I didn’t even say I was necessarily happy—I have happy moments and find joy in those.”
Here’s to choosing joy.