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The Power of Gratitude
During our recent Multicultural Week, I was thinking about how special our school really is. For some of us it’s five minutes away from home, but for many, it means a completely new country, a new language, and even the start of a new lifestyle. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to be somewhere that offers so many opportunities with such meaningful experiences.
Being grateful isn’t something we can take for granted, because when you truly are grateful, your perspective changes. It’s easy to say, “Oh yeah, I’m grateful for friends, food and a good school,” But it’s different to actually live by it.
Making the conscious decision to “be grateful” shifts your mindset from focusing on what you don’t have to recognizing everything you do – supportive teachers, loyal friends, opportunities to grow, and even learning to be grateful for challenges that push you to become stronger.
Making the conscious decision of gratefulness doesn’t mean everything will be sunshine and rainbows; it means that you’ll learn to recognize that even in tough moments, there is a lesson, there are people who support you, and there is a path forward. Having made it to where you are in this moment is something everyone here should be grateful for.
On a personal note, I’m incredibly grateful to have grown from Grade 7 all the way to Grade 12 here at Stanstead College. It’s been more than just the classrooms or the threats by Ms. Campbell ever since Grade 7… which, by the way, it’s been almost six years, and she has yet to hit me with that wooden stick.
It’s the friendships, the challenges, the victories, and the lessons learned here that have had the greatest impact on my life. When someone asks me, “How is Stanstead College?” I never talk about the amount of homework we get or the huge number of definitions Mr. Blair puts on his tests. Instead, I tell them about the incredible memories I’ve made and how, over time, this place becomes a second home. And that’s something I’m immensely grateful for. Not everyone can say their school is a “second home.”
As I prepare to step into a new chapter of my life and move on to university, I do so with gratitude. Gratitude for the amazing memories, people who supported me, and experiences that I know will stay with me long after I leave this campus… a campus that will always be “my second home.”
Make the conscious decision to be grateful and make it part of something you live by. Because one day, sooner than you think, you’ll look back at this moment and you’ll realize that this “normal” school was something special.
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