Ah, November. The time of reflection, gratefulness, and turkey. Once a year every year, Americans gather together with their loved ones to reflect on their lives and all the things that they are grateful for. This is wonderful – focusing on the positives in your life rather than the negatives is important, and we as humans don’t practice thankfulness enough throughout our everyday lives. This week, I’m going to do my own self-reflection before I’m sitting at my Thanksgiving table.
1. My Friends
As cliche as it sounds, I’m extremely thankful for all of my friends this year on Thanksgiving. When I came into URI as a freshman last year, I was a completely different person than I am now. I always struggled with feeling a sense of belonging in my hometown, and after growing up there for 18 years prior I was tired of feeling left out or like I don’t belong. From the first day of college (literally – we all met within the first week), I’ve never felt that feeling again.
Being surrounded by supportive people is something that is so important, and to say that I’m lucky enough to have a huge group of people surrounding me and lifting me up is so amazing. They keep me entertained, give advice, and have fun with me, and I never feel more like myself than when I’m talking to them.
2. My Family
Again, another cliche, but it is true. Outside of my immediate family, I have a big, fat Italian family full of cousins, aunts and uncles that definitely add a lot of spice to my life. Being away from all of my family when I’m in college is definitely hard, but FaceTime calls and social media help keep us all up to date. Being from a large family like that is like having your own little village of people behind you at all times. And when we all get together we’re so loud and have so much fun, with inside jokes flying around everywhere.
3. Ram’s Den Chicken Tenders and Fries
Okay, here’s a less serious sappy one. Ram’s Den chicken tenders and fries are my absolute go-to meal. Nothing hits better than those chicken tenders when you’re running from class to class and you haven’t eaten yet today. Rams Den chicken tenders have gotten me through so much. They’re the most loyal thing in my life, and I know that they’re never gonna let me down. This year on Thanksgiving, this food is at the top of my list. I don’t know where I would be without them in my life.
4. The University of Rhode Island
This is somewhat of an umbrella term for all of the things that I just mentioned, but I really am thankful for URI and all of the opportunities that it has given me to grow as a person and as a student. I feel like I’ve been challenged in all of my classes that I’ve taken so far in my career and I’ve had the opportunity to get involved and to grow through all of the extracurricular activities we have available to students. Even as a sophomore, I don’t feel intimidated by the thought of my future and my career because of the experience I’ve gotten here at URI.
There is so much to be grateful for this year, and reflecting upon the positives in my life is uplifting. Let me know in the comments below what you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving!
Hi! I’m Juliana and I’m a sophomore Communications and Journalism student from Brookfield, CT. I can’t wait to continue my passion for writing as a blog writer for InsideRec! Outside of Campus Recreation, I’m also involved in Greek Life, the Good Five Cent Cigar, and URI 101 mentoring. In my free time, you can find me watching the sunset in Narragansett, sitting on the quad with my friends, or in the line at Dunkin’ Donuts. I’m looking forward to writing more blog-style posts and giving advice from my own experiences!