Thank You
Opportunities are capricious things. You may come out of one with far more than you expected.
When I began my internship with the wonderful folks at Shiny Heart (those responsible for Thankfulfor.com), I was eager to utilize my design skills outside of a classroom and learn about what goes into creating and promoting a website like this one. These goals were more than met, but my internship also had an unanticipated secondary benefit. I learned about practicing gratitude.
I’ve always been something of a hopeful pessimist: I expected the worst in the hopes that I would be pleasantly surprised. You can imagine that this strategy, besides being oxymoronic, is not the most conducive to finding the good in things. Working here, I learned about gratitude journals and the ways in which they can help you shape a happier, healthier mental outlook. Finding something to be grateful for every day is a challenge (one that I still struggle to meet), but well worth the work. You begin to look beyond what you expect to disappoint you and see instead the good in what you already have. I’ve found that for such a simple exercise, saying “thank you” can be a powerful tool for improving your state of mind.
As I finish my internship here, there are a lot of things for which I’m grateful. I’m thankful for Jen and Frank, who have been wonderful to work for. I’m thankful for the opportunity to participate with this website, and for being able to share my thoughts on this blog. And, of course, I’m thankful for you, who make this website possible (and therefore gave me a job). Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.
Image by Philippa Willitts
Tori is a student intern who will be working with the Thankfulfor team over the summer. She is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she is studying graphic design.
