Happy Thoughts
- Rachel K
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
Podcast: Journeys
Series: Becoming
When Tommy Pepper created the short film Happy Thoughts, he was only eighteen years old. But the story he chose to tell reached into something deeply human: the emotions we sometimes hide because we do not know how to explain them—or because we are afraid of becoming a burden to the people we love.
The title sounds cheerful. The story beneath it is far more complicated.
Happy Thoughts explores mental health, grief, family, and the quiet ways people try to protect one another from their pain. Yet what stayed with me most was not simply the sadness in the film. It was the love underneath it.
Sometimes we assume healing means leaving grief behind. We imagine that if we are truly getting better, the pain should disappear and the difficult memories should stop finding us.
But perhaps healing asks something different of us.
Perhaps it means learning that grief and gratitude can occupy the same heart. That we can mourn what we have lost while still loving what remains. That acknowledging our pain does not make us weak, ungrateful, or broken—it makes us human.
Happy Thoughts does not ask us to pretend everything is fine. It gives us permission to be honest about the things that are not fine—and reminds us that honesty can become the beginning of connection.
This story holds a personal connection for me. My son Liam played Tony in Happy Thoughts.
Watching someone you love help bring another person’s story to life changes the way you experience a film. I wasn’t only watching a character on the screen. I was watching my son participate in a story about grief, family, mental health, culture, and the emotions we sometimes struggle to express.
That connection first drew me closer to the film. But as I listened to Tommy explain why he created it, I began to understand that Happy Thoughts was about something much larger than one performance or one family’s experience. It was creating space for conversations that young people, families, and entire cultures do not always know how—or feel permitted—to begin.
It reminded me that the ways we understand and express emotion are shaped not only by our individual experiences, but also by our families, communities, and cultural traditions. And sometimes a story can open a door between generations, helping us speak about the things that have remained unspoken for far too long.
Mental-health conversations can be especially difficult when family expectations, cultural experiences, or generational differences teach us to keep painful emotions private. Tommy’s work opens space for a more compassionate conversation—one in which emotions are not something to fear or hide.
His film reminds us that healing does not mean forgetting.
It does not mean pretending the pain never happened.
It means allowing ourselves to honor what we have lost while still embracing what remains.
Tommy’s journey made me think about the stories we carry but rarely speak aloud. It reminded me that listening can be an act of love—and that sometimes the greatest gift we can give another person is permission to tell the truth about how they are doing - how they are feeling.
We do not have to solve someone’s grief to sit beside them in it.
We do not need perfect words to reach out.
And we do not have to carry everything alone.
Sometimes healing begins when one person finds the courage to share—and someone else chooses to listen.
Learn More & Connect
Follow Tommy Pepper on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tommypepperfilms/
Learn more about Spy Hop, the nonprofit youth media arts organization where Happy Thoughts was developed:https://spyhop.org/
Mental Health Support
Promise2Live encourages people who are struggling to reach out to someone they trust and helps communities begin lifesaving conversations:https://www.promise2live.org/
If you or someone you know needs immediate support in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Music Credit
Music: Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: 4H6ZBXT1KHUOGE9M
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