During this season of giving thanks, it is important to take a moment and reflect on the virtue of gratitude and what it means in our lives. By practicing gratitude and realizing the many blessings God has given us, we may better appreciate and love those around us at all times—not just this holiday season.

Gratitude is the state of being grateful. Whether it be your parents, a friend or a teacher, gratitude is necessary to be able to recognize all of the blessings God has given us. It is all too easy for us to only remember to show gratitude during the holidays. We see demonstrations of love and sharing come Thanksgiving, while the rest of the year is forgotten. I believe, as Christians, we  must all strive to live in gratitude all year long.

I think that Thanksgiving should not be the one day of the year to say one big “thank you,” because we should be saying thank you to God and those who love us everyday. While it is great to be around family and eat some delicious turkey, maybe Thanksgiving should be about reflecting on all of those whom we may have forgotten to show gratitude towards in the past year.

After managing how to live when a pandemic took over all of our lives, some of you may be asking yourselves, what is there to be grateful for? Well, to start, we should be thankful that God has given all the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing community here at St. Dominic. Even though school can be stressful at times, I think we can all agree that there is no other place we would rather be to receive a top notch education. So next time you see a member of the faculty or staff, be sure to tell them thank you for all that they do.

 I think we should all take gratitude to the next level by practicing it throughout the whole year instead of just during Thanksgiving. Let us all make the effort to think of everything God has given us and offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to Him and think of those who may not be as fortunate as us. With the holidays now upon us, I challenge all of you to find ways to show your gratitude not just this week, but for the whole rest of the year.