            Fall is the season of giving and being thankful for what we have. Over these past couple years, we have all been through a lot and fall is a time when we can reflect. We can all reflect on what we have gained and what we have lost over the year. I know it can be hard to not focus on the bad things and what we have lost but, as Thanksgiving comes around, I think we can think about what we are truly thankful for. I wanted to share who and what I am thankful for to inspire you to reflect on what you have in your life.
Education
            Something that I take for granted is my ability to attend college and go to an amazing school like Stonehill. I have so many great opportunities here and I continue to grow. I am thankful for the opportunity that my parents have given to me to go to college. While I am at a place of higher education, I think about the women who came before me, like my nana, who never got the opportunity to go to college. I do this for her, and I do this for all the women who never got the opportunity to attend, but fought hard so girls like me could. I am forever thankful for them.
Friends
            I am so lucky to have such amazing friends. They are people that I don’t think I could get by without. They are here for my highs and my lows and everything in between. It is an amazing thing to have people you can rely on and to experience life with. They have shaped me and made me who I am over the past few years. I am a better person because of them. I am thankful and extremely lucky to have so many friends who have my back through thick and thin. My friends at home, I know they are there, ready to pick up the phone to hear all my college stories. My friends at college, I know they are there to help with homework or if I simply just need someone to talk to if I am having a bad day.Â
Brother
            Who could I be more thankful for then my ride or die, my partner in crime, my brother. Being only two years apart, we have become very close. He is my best friend and I have always had a sense of safety around my older brother. I really relied on him these past couple years being in quarantine and experiencing college for the first time. He has been my guiding light through all of it. I truly don’t think I could have made it through all my hard times without him. I have never known a time when my brother hasn’t been in my life, and I know I never will, even when we both move away. I am thankful for everything he has done for me and being the best brother I could ask for. I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.
Parents
            The last and certainly most important thing I am thankful for is my parents. Who would I be without them? I simply would not exist without my parents. They have given me everything and the word thankful would not even begin to cover it. My dad has never been short of telling me how proud he is of me, and he is always there cheering me on. I have never had to wonder how much he loved me and how proud he was to be my dad. Growing up can be so uncertain at times but having that type of support behind you always makes life easier to deal with.Â
            I don’t even know where to begin with my mom. When it comes to her, I am forever thankful for the unconditional love, but the most important thing she has ever done for me is taught me how to be a human being. She showed me how to be empathic and she showed me the importance of kindness. She also taught me that just because you are kind does not mean you cannot be strong. She taught me how to love who I am and how to love others. She taught me the values of being a woman and to never limit myself. I am thankful for her conditioning me not to see my gender as weak, but to see it as power. I am who I am because of my beautiful mother, and she can give me no greater gift than that.Â