Choosing To Be Grateful

Upon reading the New York Times article "Choosing to Be Grateful", many components of the article stuck out to me. In my opinion, the most important one is that most people are thankful for the big things in life such as the basic necessitates and important relationships in their lives, but it is important as well to be thankful for the little insignificant things that make a person happy. 

Personally, having issues with anxiety and depression, I make it a point to find big and little things that bring joy to my everyday life. Some of these things are old songs, pictures, or small incidents that happen throughout the days that bring a smile to my face. I also make it a point to be thankful for these things all year, not just around the time of thanksgiving. 

When it comes to connecting the article to my professional life, the author talked about happiness and gratitude coming from the inside, out. I immediately related that to education and my fieldwork experiences now, and the ones to come. Just like happiness needs to be intrinsic before it can be extrinsic, the knowledge that is being taught to students needs to be in your mind and in your spirit and truly understood before you pass it on to students. 

This article was a great reminder of ways to keep my spirits up and always remember to look at the bright side of things. There is always something to be grateful for.