Student Blog: A Perspective Shift on Gratitude

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite times of year. I love being able to see my family, to maintain our traditions, and to really slow down and consider what I am grateful for. I recently saw a TikTok talking about being grateful and it completely shifted my perspective.

Recently, I have found myself in more of a funk because I have been feeling quite overwhelmed. Finals are coming up all while I am planning my move out for going abroad. I have some hard goodbyes to say and much to accomplish before the end of the year. Yet, the TikTok I mentioned shifted my approach. In all honesty, I have been forgetting to be thankful for such "difficulties". It truly is such a privilege to have such beautiful relationships that make saying goodbye difficult. It is also such a privilege to be busy and to have so many opportunities to prove what I have learned this semester. It is also a privilege to plan for a whole semester in Paris. So, instead of approaching these next couple weeks with dread, I am trying to choose gratitude in every moment.

I think often in college it can be easy to focus on accomplishments and staying on top of everything. Yet, it can be so easy to miss the moments you have been hoping for so long. This Thanksgiving, my goal is to create a list of things that are overwhelming me and try to look at them from a perspective of gratitude. I invite anyone else to do the same and maybe we will find there are so many good things in life that outweigh every moment of anxiety or disappointment. I even catch myself every now and then and have to laugh. Something as simple as being overwhelmed by having to prepare a song for class is silly to me because I know Ava from two years ago would have loved to have the opportunity to learn to be a better performer. It truly is all about perspective!