by Aggie Swituszak, Product Specialist
Every year, our perceptions of gratitude change. When we are younger, gratitude would have looked like someone sharing their toy car or helping you learn to ride a bike. For those of us going into college or currently in college, gratitude can look like essay help, advising advice, or just an act of kindness from a friend. Being grateful and having gratitude means something different to each of us, and every year we are reminded that these acts of kindness go a long way in shaping who we are.
Coming out of a pandemic has taught me, personally, to be grateful for the basics. Something I never thought I would be grateful for is toilet paper and basic cleaning supplies. Throughout this past year and a half, we have been reminded over and over again to be grateful for the basics and for just being alive and healthy. It is so easy to expect certain things (groceries, medicine, Etc.) to be a constant in our lives, but through this past year we have seen how fast that can be taken away. One key thing about gratitude is not having a standard for it; be just as grateful for something big as something small - like the little bit of cereal you have left in the cereal box in the morning.
Even though we are moving into “normalcy” this fall, we should take with us the knowledge of what we went through last year. Be grateful that you can go to concerts now, but always keep in your pocket the gratitude of having good health and access to food, water, and medicine. Take a step back and appreciate the little positive things that happen along the way!