My life sounded so pathetic.

Last week I e-mailed my best friend from kindergarten. I hadn't spoken to her since I moved to Louisiana from Iowa, almost 15 years ago.

So I found her e-mail address online and wrote to her asking if she remembered me.

She wrote back the next night. Of course, she said, she remembered me and it was so great to hear from me and how was I doing?

She told me that she was engaged and moving to Nepal with her fiancŽ after she graduates in May. She said she's into rock-climbing now and just returned from Utah, where the beauty was indescribable.

So what was up with me?

I was so excited as I wrote her back. I couldn't believe we were catching up after 15 years. But as I started to write, I couldn't help but notice how my life paled in comparison to hers.

"I have two-and-a-half jobs and work well over 40 hours a week," I wrote. "When I'm not working, I either try to catch up on my sleep or, more likely, hang out with the friends I neglect by working all the time."

Great, I'm a regular workaholic.

"But I love my jobs."

Pathetic.

This got me thinking. Do I regret what I'm doing now? Does my life feel pathetic?

No.

Sure, I'm always working, but I get to hang out with my co-workers (who are my friends) and do something that I love.

It's like Albert Schweitzer said: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

And like I said, when I'm not working, I'm usually hanging out with friends.

I realized that the personal relationships in my life are the most important thing to me.

I've traveled all over the United States, and I've seen "indescribable beauty," and that's all fine and dandy.

But I'm more likely to want to sit at my friend's house and watch him play video games, grab a drink with a classmate from high school or try to figure out what the hell "Mulholland Drive" was about with an old coworker.

Of course, because I work so much, there are times when my friends go to a club or to a concert or on a road trip, and I get jealous because my work schedule is locked.

But I made a choice to take on so much, and I don't regret it.

So a friend I haven't talked to in 15 years made different choices. She and her fiancŽ are going to climb rocks in Nepal.

That's great for her, but I don't want any of that.

I don't need no stinkin' fiancŽ; I probably wouldn't even have enough time for one.

Rock-climbing? That's far too much physical exertion.

And I sure don't need Utah or Nepal; I've got everything I love and need within driving distance.

I shouldn't feel bad that she's doing different things with her life than I'm doing.

Everyone enjoys life differently.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to how you live your life, as long as you're happy about it.

Some people want a lot of money for material possessions; others just want a comfortable couch and a television.

Albert Camus said, "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life."

I know what happiness consists of, and I know that it's different for everyone.

After thinking for a while and reaffirming my life choices, I was unashamed to send the e-mail to my old friend.

My life makes me happy. Even if it does sound pathetic.

Heidi Hausmann is a senior journalism major from Opelousas and serves as editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to heidihausmann@hotmail.com.