Last week, I was sitting in class when I received a text from my roommate that said, "Thanks for unloading the dishwasher! You are awesome" complete with a smiley face even. Initially, I was pleasantly surprised to read this text. I thought it was so thoughtful that my roommate took the time to thank me for unloading the dishwasher; the dishwasher that was full of dishes I had also taken part in dirtying. I did not even think twice about unloading it, and I most certainly did not expect a "thank you" for doing so.

But let me tell how you happy it made me when received this message. It was not the fact that I was thanked for unloading the dishwasher. This is something normal that needs to typically be done to maintain a clean kitchen. What made me beam with happiness was that my roommate took the time to send me a simple text. She noticed something that I did and then expressed her gratitude for it. There is just something so uplifting about that.

After receiving this text, my whole day seemed to shift. While I was not having a bad day (it had overall merely been average) but this little random act of kindness from my roommate changed my entire demeanor. My day quickly shifted from average to positive after something as simple as a "thank you" text message.

This scenario made me start to wonder about the normal things that I take for granted from day-to-day that I am extremely grateful for. It is so important to let people know you are aware of the things that they are doing that you are grateful for. The purpose of expressing your gratitude is twofold: to make the other party aware of their impact on you and to develop a true sense of appreciation for certain aspects of your life that result in genuine positivity.

As I felt the happy emotions evoked by these words of affirmation, I began to feel inspired to evoke similar reactions in people that influence my life. It felt so good to be thanked for something so minuscule, something that I never expected to be thanked for but truly appreciated after it happened. It changed my perspective.

I challenge you, as I am also challenging myself, to integrate more acts of displaying gratitude for others on a daily basis. Think of anything that would be different if it weren't for a certain person doing a certain action. Think of all of the different people that you interact with throughout a single day. How would your life be different if that certain person decided not to perform that certain action any longer?

The action that you are grateful for can be of any magnitude and the means in which you express gratitude for that action can also be of any magnitude. It can be something as simple as thanking your roommate for unloading the dishwasher with a nice text.

I replied telling my roommate how much the message meant to me and that she did not have to thank me for unloading the dishwasher. Her response was: "I just want you to know that I appreciate you."

Well, I appreciate you too! Thank you for helping me realize how important it is to be positive, thoughtful, and grateful.