In order to maintain the essence of Heart of the Matter, the students who share their hearts with us will remain anonymous.
The holiday season is nearly upon us, and the mid-November anticipation for Thanksgiving brings up one familiar question: what are you grateful for this year?
There are countless answers to this question, but many people will often come up with some combination of family, friends and home. In order to truly get in the holiday spirit, I wanted to know what else is on students’ minds when they are inevitably asked this timeless question.
“I am grateful for my overall health,” one student said. “I am grateful that I am not ill.”
Good health, while usually part of one’s well wishes for everyone else, is all too easy to overlook when it’s one’s own. College students are especially susceptible to overlooking their health in order to prioritize classwork, clubs and social lives. So, acknowledging the good fortune we have in our health is crucial.
The end of the calendar year and the impending end of the semester can bring up feelings of homesickness and nostalgia on campus. However, one student chose to focus her gratitude on her life at Villanova.
“I am grateful to be living on campus with all of my best friends,” she said. “College is a unique time when I am able to live so close to them.”
The experiences that come only with being in college are not to be taken for granted. New friendships, interests and opportunities unfold before all of us, and every one of them has the potential to shift our life experiences.
“I am incredibly grateful for my semester study abroad experience in Ireland,” one student, who is currently abroad, said. “Having the chance to immerse myself in different cultures and travel with my best friends has been a highlight of my college experience and has broadened my perspective in the best way possible.”
Back on campus, many students are also fondly reflecting on the things they are grateful for that they will miss in the future.
“As a senior getting ready to graduate, every day I become more and more grateful for the true community Villanova has gifted me,” another student shared. “Whether it be my classmates, people in my extracurriculars or my friends, being able to spend time with these people and learn from each of them has grown me into the person I am today and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
These answers reflect a wide range of sentiments, and the unique perspectives of each student emphasize just how much we all have to be grateful for. And don’t fret, the classic answers did come up, too.
“I’m grateful for my family, my friends and for Villanova, which has brought some of the best people into my life,” one student said.
As we countdown until Thanksgiving, these statements resonate loudly in everyone’s hearts. Happy holiday season, Villanovans. Tell people that you’re grateful for them.
