What Are You Grateful For? by Taylor

What Are You Grateful For? by Taylor - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

With the New Year, we begin our own personal blank books. During this year, we will write our own novel in our own ways. Most people make resolutions, but never completely follow through. Deepak Chopra once said, “Gratitude opens the door to…the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.” With this, my New Year’s resolution that will help me become a better student, is to practice gratitude.
Gratitude. The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Throughout my life, I’ve heard a lot about how being successful won’t always make us happy, but rather, it’s the reverse. Being happy can help us be more productive and lead us to achieving our goals, such as graduating college and entering the work force educated. Complimenting strangers, doing a kind act by “paying it forward”, and being grateful for what you have has a positive influence on your life.
The saying, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone”, is true. Many of us rarely think about how great it is to breathe, talk, or even walk. Breathing, for example, is one of the best ways for me to explain the saying above. Once you’re sick and your nose is runny or stuffed up, you really miss the easy way to breathe. I walk around my school every single day, and not once have I thought about how incredible it is to walk. I always worry about getting to class on time or how far I have to walk in just a couple minutes. But then, when I was younger, a student at my school became paralyzed from an accident, and that is when it really sunk in. I can play volleyball still, she can’t. I can run with my friends after school, and again, she can’t. I am so grateful to have this ability to not only walk, but every other ability I have.
In my freshman ART class, our teacher made us write down five things we are grateful for each morning. Well at first, I began thinking of the basics. I’m grateful for my family, my animal companions, and my friends. But as the days went on, I began noticing everything else I am grateful for. Things like air, clean water, the cattle I make my money with, even a pencil, all became as important to me as life itself. My gratitude list is long, but I know I have so many more things to be grateful for.
In closing, there are so many things to be grateful for. Sometimes, they can even be as small as having a fantasy football team. But other times, it’s something that has a more substantial impact on my life, like getting a new job. Overall, I believe being more grateful and being positive will help me tremendously during college to become a better student, and that is why I believe that should be my New Year’s resolution. Thank you.