Kevin’s Journal: How Much Do We Have To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving? How Do We Show It During These Hard Times?

During this thanksgiving season, it seems like there is a lot less to be thankful for in our world. Whether it be due to world national politics of today dealing with our latest government shutdown or immigration enforcement increasing in large numbers and detaining citizens.

Even across the world there are, what seems like endless, wars and conflicts that we can’t seem to stay away from. Whenever you turn on the news, there is a new crisis or disaster happening. It starts to get exhausting to watch.

We all know what the week of Thanksgiving means for us who are still in school. Professors give us assignments with little meaning and are meant to keep us busy or they are reviewing the upcoming final projects or tests.

This year was slightly different. In one of my classes our professor asked us to write a letter to the faculty member who we were most thankful for. This assignment  made me truly think about what I was thankful for at Elmhurst and who made these opportunities possible.

I had a long list of people in my head, whether it be the faculty advisor who was there to ensure I was taking the classes I needed, the professor who always seemed to make class interesting, or the admissions counselor who gave me my first experience at Elmhurst University and made sure the admissions process was as smooth as possible.

For me, I finally decided to write my letter to my admissions counselor, who I still see, and who still makes the time to talk with me and make sure that I am having an enjoyable and fulfilling time at EU.

Admission counselors are just one of the many unsung heroes here. While we took this week to reflect on who we are thankful for, there could have been endless responses to that question.

Whether it be a person in the office of the registrar who made sure you had the credits you needed to graduate, the RA who let you into your locked dorm, or the maintenance worker who works tirelessly to ensure that we have a clean and pristine place to live and learn.

It takes a lot of work to stop and be this reflective on your life, and be grateful to the people who supported you on your life journey so far. Those are the people that you see around campus and stop for a minute to remember small details that they have done for you.

Whether it be just taking a minute to smile or asking how another person’s day is going, we can all be supportive of each other on campus even if it is in ways that are not always recognised.

I am going to leave you with this, remember we are all here for an education, but that is not all we get out of our experiences here. Remember to take a minute to thank the people you surround yourself with. They have done more for you then you realize.