New year, new me.
We jokingly say it every time we flip the calendar on a new year. Every year it's the same drill, but for me, this year is different. As time flies by, I've realized that I'm already more than halfway through the supposed "best years of my life" that college is said to be. Only a year separates me from adulthood, drinking in the home-town bar everyone talks crap about, and leaving a few friendships and party-life moments behind that only college can offer.
These moments may only be true for some of us, but I'm sure whether you're a 20-year-old or 20 years too old, you've been there before.
If you're listening, I have a proposition for you.
It all started when I was sitting in the waiting room of the Cleveland Clinic hospital in Lorain, Ohio, during winter break while away from school.
It was only the second day of the year, and I had been thinking of how this year was going to be my best by far.
But there I was, caught in the grasps of illness -- what a start to my 2016.
As I scheduled a follow-up appointment, the woman at the desk was asking me about myself. You know, the typical college questions: What is your major? Do you like it? What are you doing after graduation? And so on.
I told her I had a rough 2015 and she looked at me with warm brown eyes and said very convincingly, "Would you like to hear a secret?"
I thought to myself, "Sure, I'll humor her."
But honestly, I wasn't ready for what she said next.
She told me that she was diagnosed with a disease around Christmas (specifics of which she would not share); however, she said that it made her realize that she had been worrying about why her life wasn't looking up.
Her life wasn't progressing the way she wanted it to. Her dreams weren't being answered, she wasn't in good health, and she was even unsure of her current work situation. And then she told me something that changed not only my outlook on 2016, but my outlook on my future as well.
"Every day, no matter how bad it is, I make sure to find something to be thankful for and to be happy about," she said.
It's such a novel idea -- to be thankful for the life you're given every day. To be blessed with the life you're given and to rejoice in the simple things. We as human beings sometimes only remember what we're thankful for during the holiday season. In 2016, we should remember to give thanks every day.
So my New Year's resolution has only one thing on it, and it changes every day. To be thankful.
For the next 365 days, I will find a reason to be thankful for the life I've been given, for the fortunes I have that others do not. We are all fortunate in our own unique ways. Our needs are different from our wants. Our passions are different from our aspirations.
So, as your 2016 trudges on and you experience your (what I am sure will be) roller-coaster of a year, find something to be thankful for.
Make this year the best for you and the loved ones around you.
I know I will.
