Have you ever just stepped back and thought about how thankful you are?

When things seem to be going in the wrong direction, do you ever turn around and look at all the things going the right way?

It's easy to focus on all the things we feel aren't successful when success is something that we long for so desperately.

As I sit here with my friends I am continuously thinking about all the times I mentioned throughout my past week how bad it was.

Finals week stinks. It's the end of the semester and everyone needs a break.

Students are running on no sleep and high stress while professors try desperately to finish up their classes.

Twitter is flooded with tweets about how horrible school is and each time you pass a fellow student you share the knowing look of "please just let this week be done."

All the while, small things are taking place for us to be thankful for.

I myself am so unbelievably guilty of ignoring this aspect.

I complain and I cry and I talk about how done I am with school to my friends.

My friends complain back, and then we usually go about our day.

This is a undesirable trait that I often find myself overlooking.

While I pick myself apart in so many ways, this form of negativity is often something I ignore as a flaw.

Once the current hard time is over with, I usually look back to find that it wasn't nearly as bad as I made it out to be.

This is something I believe many students can relate to.

There are so many positive things that we overlook and fail to focus on because we are so busy doting on the things we aren't necessarily happy with.

After this week, I sit here and find that there are so many things I have to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for my mom who answers the phone whenever I call and listens to whatever dramatic subject I want to ramble about.

I'm thankful for my friends who are always there during the mental breakdowns and who are always down for a study break full of laughter as well and ranting.

I'm thankful for a school that provides professors who work with students and genuinely long to see them succeed.

I'm thankful for my family and friends back home who continuously jump at the opportunity to tell me how proud they are of me and keep me updated on hometown activities.

I'm thankful for the life i've been blessed with and all the people I've met who are such great influences in it.

The craziest thing about this is that these are only a few of the things that I'm lucky to have.

When it comes down to it, there are a million other small things that take place everyday that are a light in my daily life.

Whether other's blessings fall under the same categories as my specific examples or under a completely different aspect - they're still there.

When we take the time to step back and look at these blessings we'll find those negative things slowly fading into the background of our lives.

When we focus on these positives our overall mood remains much more upbeat then when we are dwelling on the negatives.

So as the semesters are finishing up, make sure to remember all the small things that take place every day that put a smile on our faces.

These are the things worth our time and thoughts.

These are the aspects that we need to keep in our lives and remember daily because these are the things that bring us joy and that, in the end, is what truly matters.