By Halle Fukawa | Editor in Chief
With the pandemic raging, fires blazing, families fighting, and everyone suffering from their own brand of cabin fever, the coming cold months look less like sweater weather and seasonal drinks, and more like another month of… this. Still, though the holiday season may be different from how it’s traditionally been, there’s no time like the present to practice gratitude.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines gratitude as, “The state of being thankful.” Personally, if I were asked to share how I am currently feeling in November, 2020, “thankful” wouldn’t be one of them.
A pandemic that we thought would be over in three weeks has now persisted for nearly nine months and has claimed well over 238,000 lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Protests and demonstrations nationwide have called to question the safety and equality of our citizens. Natural disasters from fires to hurricanes rage through the states. One of the most turbulent and polarizing presidential elections has concluded, but the political turmoil over our executive branch has barely begun to ebb.
With so much going on, what exactly is there to be grateful for? The answer to this question is both blatantly simple and extremely complicated.
When Gabrielino High School closed back in March, I can confirm that the reaction was mostly positive. And while everyone’s experiences were a little different, a majority of students found themselves with more time than they knew what to do with. After years of living life in a blur of non-stop working, practicing, and preparing, we were finally able to sit down and take a breather. I am grateful for being given the time to bing TV shows, FaceTime with friends, and catch up on sleep.
I am grateful to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and the knowledge that my friends and family are healthy and safe. Eating breakfast in the morning, drinking tea at night, taking walks with my dogs, and having picnics with friends (socially distanced, of course) are all ways I have been able to take time for myself that I would not have been able to do otherwise. In the most fast-paced era of technology and social disconnection, this quarantine has granted us the gift of time; something a high school senior certainly cannot complain about.
Even writing this article has provided me with hope by forcing me to look away from my screen — metaphorically, of course — and realize what I have and what I have been able to accomplish these past nine months. The truth is that life goes on, and it moves too fast for us to dwell on what we don’t have. So, even in the worst of times, it’s important to cherish what we do have.
