Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! While you guys are watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and snacking on cheese, crackers, fruits, etc. before the “big meal,” I thought I’d provide some insight as to what I’m thankful for, based on recent events that occurred.

Tuesday, November 22nd was my last day of classes (for me) before our break. Yes, I’m technically supposed to be “on holiday,” but there’s still writing involved in my everyday life #writerproblems.

After a heinous October, November has been nothing but good to me. November I’m dubbing as the month of finding myself, moving forward, kicking ass, and taking names. So let me just start from square one:

This past month, I thought a lot about traveling and doing the things I was scared to do. So, I took the initiative and emailed my study abroad adviser at my college and scheduled an appointment. Still thinking in a “sociology mindset” (I’ll get to my… guess what… NEW MAJOR in a minute), I was thinking of interning in Spain in some sort of human rights program for 4-8 weeks in the summer. Then, in Spring 2018, I would study abroad. But now that I’m now a… take a guess of what major I’m in now…

ENGLISH (!!!) Even the chairperson in the English department said, “I don’t know what took you so long!” My mom thought it’d be the right fit for me, and my best friend/roommate Katelyn (who is also an English major) was excited for me ☺ One of the deans at my school always knew I was quite the writer, so she was surprised that I went with sociology (and all of my other majors before that). It’s all about finding yourself, and in all honesty, if I want to resume my dream of becoming an attorney, I think English is the better way to go. I’m still keeping my double major in Spanish and my Gender Studies minor.

Moreover, I thought that I would do a journalism internship before going abroad for a whole semester. My mom and I were talking in a small Italian restaurant in my hometown when she said that I could go into journalism in order to pay for law school (not a bad idea).

Speaking of journalism, I (finally) followed my Spanish Writing Workshop professor’s advice, and I am now a culture writer for the Saint Anselm College Crier! My professor made a point in saying that although I have a blog, my voice should still be heard publicly. Here’s a link to my first article, if you haven’t read it already.

So, the things I am thankful for are having a voice, my friends and family for supporting me in everything I do and pretty much everything else, being a woman receiving an education, my professors for always believing in me (especially my Spanish Writing professor and my new adviser for English/Gender Studies), the ability to do what I love on campus like tutoring and writing for the Crier, and all of the opportunities I have at my school.

Just one more thing before I wrap it up: on my last day of classes, I walked down to the basement of the library to get a coffee (because God knows that I’m addicted to that machine) and I notice a worker kindling with it and cleaning it. He notices I want a coffee and immediately pulls out $2. I insisted that he didn’t have to pay, but he insisted on making and buying a pumpkin spice latte anyway. There was no way I couldn’t introduce myself and talk to this gentleman, so I immediately pulled out my hand to shake his. I can’t believe I don’t remember his name, as I am so good with names. We had a brief conversation about where we lived in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. That one man proved that a little kindness goes a long way. I hope you all get to give a little kindness to your community this Thanksgiving holiday, and during the holidays. In the words of Rachel Scott:

“I have one theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it would start a chain reaction of the same.”

God bless everyone today and everyday. I am thankful for all of you for taking the time to read my blog ☺