Being grateful can be a very hard thing for me. It’s not that I don’t recognize the wonderful things I have in my life, it is just that I usually underestimate them or forget about the majority of them. For example, just living in this house on campus through campus life has brought me dozens of wonderful opportunities and blessings. I am an RA without all of the daunting responsibilities that befall the other RA’s who have over 30 students in their care. I control my own air conditioning and heating, which no other dorm on campus can do. I have 8 great guys in a house that is the perfect set-up of closeness and privacy. We have tons of great friends from all over the world who have come together and get along incredibly well and all of this I forget about on a daily basis. I complain about something regardless of the dozens of things that I would regularly complain about otherwise. It could be anything from parking to loudness to sunshine to neighbors that I might regularly complain about which just don’t exist here. I have a refrigerator provided by Campbell, a wonderful television, surround sound provided by Chase, a private room, a wonderful bed, plenty of closet space, wooden floors and wooden walls, wide, clean, tall windows facing the sunset and isolation from everyone else on campus, yet the closeness that comes from being twenty steps from academic circle.
I don’t say all this to brag. I say all of this to explain to myself out loud just how lucky I am this semester. I have spent time writing down all of my worries and problems more than once and until now not once have I written down my happinesses and my solutions that are provided every second. I have many blessings and opportunities before me and, in spite of myself, I think I have enjoyed many of them without any appreciation or gratitude in the mix. Being Sunday maybe I have found it especially easy to be grateful and rested, but I hope that I can be thoughtful and appreciative every day of the week. It is certainly easier than being worried and more realistic than just thinking about all of the problems that I might encounter.
I don’t say all this to brag. I say all of this to explain to myself out loud just how lucky I am this semester. I have spent time writing down all of my worries and problems more than once and until now not once have I written down my happinesses and my solutions that are provided every second. I have many blessings and opportunities before me and, in spite of myself, I think I have enjoyed many of them without any appreciation or gratitude in the mix. Being Sunday maybe I have found it especially easy to be grateful and rested, but I hope that I can be thoughtful and appreciative every day of the week. It is certainly easier than being worried and more realistic than just thinking about all of the problems that I might encounter.
