Be Thankful

By Elizabeth Shumaker '18, Student Government Vice-President

I find this quote very intriguing. It is not saying we are nothing, it is saying of ourselves, from ourselves, by ourselves, we are nothing. Everyone sitting in this room is talented, and everyone in this room is different. But everything about everyone comes from another, greater source. By thanking God for our truly innumerable blessings, we are acknowledging this fact that everything we are and everything we have is a gift.

Say thank you for your family. Whether this family be a mother/father/sister/brother family, or your Visitation family of friends. Say thank you. Thank them, for whatever it is that they do that makes you happy to have them around, and thank God for them.

When I was a few days old, my parents brought me home from the hospital. My two older sisters were 20 months old at the time, and my parents were concerned about them liking me, and the idea of having a younger sister. When my parents brought me inside our little house in Arlington, Virginia, my sister Cara decided to give me a welcome home gift, if you will. She stomped over to me, and handed me a purple crayon—her favorite. purple. crayon. Obviously I couldn't express my gratitude with words. Heck, I didn't even know what a crayon was. But still, this story reminds me of how special the concept of gratitude is. We are thankful for certain things without even knowing it, just as I was thankful for that crayon.

We should be thankful for not only the good things, but for every thing. Thankful for the C minus we got on our math quiz. Thankful for the coffee we spilled on our skirt this morning. Thankful for the argument we got into with our parents last night. Because what if the only things you have tomorrow are the things you thanked God for today? I don't know about you, but I certainly would not survive in a world without my parents and without coffee. Math I'm not quite sure about, but I am still thankful nonetheless.

Seniors, as you all may or may not be aware of, today is the deadline for early applications to, dare I say, college. I'm sure my classmates are feeling many emotions- relief, fatigue, anxious anticipation. But this day is the perfect time to stop and say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity we have to apply to college and to be so prepared for it from our days at Visitation.

Juniors, sophomores, and freshmen: Be thankful for the opportunity to go to this school. Be thankful for each day you get to spend here, and each amazing human you get to meet here. I know it is the most typical thing of someone just months from graduation to say, but your time here will go by faster than you could think, so be thankful for every piece of it.