Here we are again. Despite the countless promises I made to myself before Thanksgiving, I opted for blissful ignorance above proactive preparedness this break. And I have to tell you: I don’t regret it one bit. As far as I’m concerned, time spent with family is time best spent. Sitting around my Thanksgiving dinner table, listening a little harder than usual — read: talking a lot less — it struck me that the voices I was hearing wouldn’t always be the same. New ones will come and old ones will go, and my question to myself was: What have I done to show each person in my life that I’m thankful for his or her presence? So this year I’m making a Thanksgiving resolution. I don’t really know how to tell you how to do this — I’m no paragon of thankfulness — but I can tell you how I’m going to try.
First: Writing letters. Everyone loves snail mail. It’s tangible and permanent and shows that you put more than a few seconds worth of thought into the words you wrote. I have an 8-year-old sister who writes me faithfully every month, and I owe her at least a dozen letters in return.
Second: Calling the grandparents. Mine taught me French, built me a doll house with working electricity, bought me a kitten and let me get my ears pierced even when my mom said no way, Jose. They rock, right? I shouldn’t need a reason to call them outside the fact that I love them so much and should tell them that as often as possible.
Third: Getting a job. My parents pay a lot of bills for me. I shudder to think how much it costs to keep Anne-Marie Albracht up and running for business each year. The least I can do is make a concerted effort to give back.
Fourth: Community service. I’m a strong believer that community service is not just a high school graduation requirement or a college resume booster. It’s a lifelong commitment you make as a person who’s been given too much. I personally need to get more involved in my sorority’s philanthropy — insert shameless plug for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital here.
College is a selfish part of life. I worry about my grades, my work schedule, my social life and my newspaper deadlines, forgetting that I’m not the only person with a lot on her plate. Of course it’s important to live in the moment, but it’s also important to think about the world outside of the 22904. Will I complete this list fully? No way. Are there a million more things I could do? Of course. But I have to start somewhere. I challenge you, despite all the stress of finals, to remember how you got to this great place and who helped you on your journey. As humans we are never solely responsible for our own success. Behind every Olympian — or every University student — there’s a proud real or metaphorical mom.
The good news is there are a millions ways to say thank you. You just have to choose one.
_Anne-Marie’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at a.albracht@cavalierdaily.com. _
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