Gratitude for an education: Reflecting on the gifts of learning this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to reconnect with friends and family, eat festive foods, and remind yourself of all the things you have to be grateful for. As college students, and people, we tend to get so wrapped up in our busy, distracting, and often chaotic lives. So much so, that we forget all of the privileges we have. Like for example, the ability to even read this post remotely from a screen.?

As students at a successful university, being able to receive a well-rounded education is a gift all of CommAgency’s members are eternally grateful for. We understand that receiving an education, especially at a university like Penn State, is not something everyone has access to. For that reason alone, it’s important to step back from all of the stressors in our schedule and remember how incredible it is that we are being prepared for our futures by educated professionals.?

Most students have had at least one teacher that taught them lessons that inform the decisions they make and the way they continue to live. Some may have even built a relationship with a teacher that taught them something outside of the classes' curriculum. The education we’ve gotten since we were children has given us the power to understand the world, and how we want to exist within it.?

Aside from the ways the school system has benefited our brains, it’s guided our friendships and who we are as people. Most of the friendships we’ll lean on for the rest of our lives sprouted at school. Outside of the relationships we’ve built because of the time we’ve spent at educational facilities, school has overall shaped our personalities and how we’ve grown.

CommAgency acknowledges that without Penn States’ existence, facilities, and assistance we wouldn’t be the agency we are today. We are forever thankful for our ability to work creatively and take on passion projects as a team, at an honorable university.

Thanksgiving is an important time to recenter your thoughts and gratitude. It’s easy to complain about our commitments and assignments when we’re overwhelmed and tired, but it’s important to remember that we wouldn't be half of who we are today without all of the work we’ve done while getting an education.