Ayu's secret to happiness?

[Chibi_Venus]

So I was just thinking about Ayumi last night. I have a lot going on in my life right now and I was thinking of other people and how I'm not the only one. That I shouldn't focus on just myself.

So then I thought, wow, Ayu hasn't had such a perfect life either. Her dad left her, she didn't have a fantastic childhood, she's lost close friends and family members, she broke up with a boyfriend after six or seven years...

It's just, for Ayu to still be holding on, it's amazing! So many people would've given up by now! So I was thinking, I wonder what Ayu's secret to happiness is?

Now the question is, what do you think her secret is?

I don't think it's really a matter of diet, exercise, or "happy enhancers" myself. I think it's the people around her, mostly her fans. I would say it's her lyrics, because music gives her freedom to express. However, things can be too personal that she could've decided to stop writing at any point in her life. Thus, I believe it's her fans.

[AyUta]

Ayu's a very strong person, and along with the freedom to express her feelings through lyrics, she's able to cope with everything that's happened. Her fans also keep her going as well, that's a big part of it for sure. Her close friends too.

[Melrose]

Her secret is having 50 million Yen on her bank account and a personal chauffeur.

[*Petit*]

From her interviews, I think what got her life "together" was to be able to accomplish something, to have someone demand something of her and for her to manage. I think writing is a way for her to process things.
I also think she's very depending on her social relations with her closest ones, like her collaborators at work or her fans. The response from fans seems very important to her.

[apple-pi]

When I read the thread title, I thought it was quoting the AUDIENCE lyrics:

In these seemingly worthless days
there is hidden a trick to being happy.
It was made for
everyone to share.

haha.

I remember reading on the ASFXX liner notes that she mentioned always having had trouble with being able to express herself, and that she found her way to do it through her lyrics. I think being able to voice her opinions must've taken a huge load off her back... I mean, not being able to tell people properly about your beliefs and ideas for so long (19 years?) would be exhausting.

And then, to top it off, being heard and supported by all the fans she gained. Just by looking at the ASFXX (song) lyrics it's obvious how alone she felt during her childhood, so that must've been... a nice surprise, to say the least?

And being in the entertainment business she must've learned so much that she didn't know before, seeing so many sides of life she wasn't aware of, it would expand her view of the world. With all she's gone through, good or bad, in these 10 years, she's become a lot wiser... you can pretty much witness her line of thought changing if you read her lyrics chronologically.

I think Ayu's happy because she figured it all out. She knows herself, she knows exactly what she wants and what she must do to achieve it, she's seen the world around it for what it is. So even if horrible things happen and she becomes depressed (like her ear and her friend's death last year), in the end, she remember the direction she'd been following.

[yagovg]

The music is the way she explains her feelings, music is her life at the moment, i mean, she has to keep on it cause it's her work. But i think that we give her the strengh that she needs when she's down or depressive. Go Ayu, life can smile to you, we are here whenever you need us.

[Ayunk]

Her life is music and practically her happiness. It's her way of expressing her feelings and emotions through good and bad times. And yes, she is a very strong person.

[ArchangelLegend]

A very good boss that made her what she is today? ^_^

I'm her secret to happiness.

I have to say this, but Ayu's life hasn't been that hard.

[love in music]

i think

#1. her fans, singing, doing her job
#2. her friends, family, and dogs
#3. SHOPPING!!

okay maybe shopping could be at number 1..shopping has got me through some very difficult times in my life

[WillofDusk]

I think she's found what she enjoys doing the most which is singing.
She's so dedicated to her job that she doenst even bother thinking about other stuff anymore.
She's just happy working.

I admire the way she work. Professional

[pommy48]

all her fans, her staff, friends, shopping

maybe the fact that she's accepted the past (RAINBOW)
and she can accept herself for who she is now

[Kazeyomi]

Uhm...

Maybe the secret is just her strengh.
She has many problems but she keep singing and obviously have an happy life.


or maybe those things

Her secret is having 50 million Yen on her bank account and a personal chauffeur.

[emi♡]

It's herself

she's just herself. People say that they are always just themselves but...I don't think it's as easy as it seems.

Ayu's always honest and true to herself, even as far as to call herself selfish. She knows, and I think understands the repercussions of that, but she still can't be anyone but her. I think it's interesting that Ayu has grown as she has, and I think she has a lot to thank from her career for that. I think that if she had ended up as an actress or model, she might not have the same outlooks on things as she does now.

She also has a wonderful sense of humor...You'd be amazed at how much that changes things lol

[truehappiness]

I think some people don't realize how hard Ayu's life was before she was a pop star or w/e. Sure, her life now is pretty care free, but back then, she seemed to have some huge issues involving family life and trust.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Alot of people have to go through worse, this is true... and the single-parent household with kids working and/or adults working two jobs isn't uncommon. Alot of people have to go through life as though it's a constant struggle; nothing comes easily for them, and help is often not readily available.

But even if it's common, it's a REALLY stressful thing to go through! Let's face it, it sucks. When you're in a situation that's that stressful, you have one of two choices. One is to give up - start mooching off a relative, go homeless because you'll never be able to pay rent, or even resort to suicide. The other choice is to work your rear-end off, ask for help wherever you can find it, and do your best to persevere & get through it - even if you don't know for sure if you ever can. Ayu's family went with option 2, even though it probably meant ayu & her Mommy not seeing each other as often as they would have liked.

In ayu's case, because her father left when they were so young, the situation they were in was just normal for her. Her mommy went to work in tokyo, and her grandma watched her. Ayu herself modeled for Fukuoka City Bank to help with money, which led to more work as an aidoru.

Ayu worked very hard. Ayu's mother worked very hard. This was just what Ayu was used to; it probably never occurred to her that life could be any different until she found friends who liked to just slack off & go shopping. For a year, she did very little, and then her career with avex started.

Instead of being a slacker about it, she took the lessons learned about working hard to succeed and used them. She's kept schedules that seem inhuman to us, but probably are totally normal for ayu, for the sake of keeping busy, keeping her fans happy, and making sure her staff will always have a paycheck.

So basically, exactly the things that would make her UNhappy, she's chosen to use lessons from those times to keep her happy now. She's doing something she loves to do, and doing it in a way that will result in no regrets.

[ayumisrael]

I don't understand all of the "because she is rich" posts at all.
Of course if you have money to afford everything you want makes you partially happy but money can't really buy you eternal happiness or health.
I'm sure that she wasn't happy when she got deaf in one ear and went to shopping to make herself feel happy about it =P.

ayu is a strong person and before she became a star (and even after) her life were pretty difficult, not the most or extreme but she had a lot of hard time going through things.

Her secret imo (besides the money going jokes) are her friends, her songs and the fans.
She feels really happy and satisfied that a lot of people listen to her songs and come see her performing in her tours.
That's what makes her really happy and not just because she can afford almost anything.
Material things can't really make someone truely happy for long (or health at all), with no friend/s or a partner for life and as a singer/songwriter fans that listen to your life becomes very boring and empty and you can't buy things to make yourself happy, or buy yourself something to feel happy about being deaf in one ear/deaf.

[Gus-tave]

I read once that she said that "beer is my greatest joy in life"
lol

[Delirium-Zer0]

Originally Posted by Gus-tave

I read once that she said that "beer is my greatest joy in life"
lol

XD Yeah, she said she loves the "pssh" sound when you open a can, lol And I read somewhere that she has a mini-fridge in her apartment full of nothing but beer. XD

[ownsarai]

Originally Posted by Gus-tave

I read once that she said that "beer is my greatest joy in life"
lol

^lol
Well, I think Ayu is a very strong person. She has had a lot of hardship in her life, which some people seem to think she hasn't had that hard of a life...you obviously do not read things she has said about her life. She works hard, she has close friends and family, and of course fans. Everything to help her be a happy person. The more support you have, the better you are.

Of course money, shopping and living the life of a star has its perks, but it also has it's drawbacks. None of that can make you truly happy. In showbiz you never know who your real friends are, or who is just using your image to better themselves. I'm sure Ayu has had plenty of that in her time, and weeded those people out of her life.