Gratitude Post (Pictures)

My cousin and I cooking Thanksgiving dinner

Showing gratitude for a great friend, Hennah

Gratitude Post

Giving thanks is something that I find to be very rewarding.  I am so thankful for my friends and family because without them I would not be the person I am today.  I have much to be thankful for, and having the opportunity to show my gratitude for those who have helped me so much in life was a great experience.  The first act of gratitude that I executed was with my group of three (Danny, Nathan, and I) and this one was directed toward our friends.  We wrote nice notes on post its and then put the post it notes on their cars.  The three people whom I specifically wrote notes for were my friends Hennah, Patrick, and Jagger.  Hennah has been one of my closest friends for many years and I am always appreciative of all she does for me, so it felt good to show Hennah how grateful I was for all of her support and love.  Patrick and I haven't  been friends for very long, but in the time that we have been friends he has always been there for me.  He is a very funny person, and considering everything that I have going on and all the times that I get overly stressed it is very important for me to have a friend that can make me laugh.  Jagger is a friend that I have had for pretty much my entire life.  He and I played youth basketball and baseball together, and since then we have grown very close.  Although we don't talk all the time, he is one of those friends that I can always lean on for support.  (picture of gratitude shown in the next blog).  My next form of gratitude was individualized.  I have a very tight-knit family and we spend a lot of time together.  My grandmother on my mom's side, Mae Mae (Portuguese for Mother's Mother), recently underwent knee surgery and has been going through the recovery process.  Typically on Thanksgiving, Mae Mae cooks a majority of the food while the rest of us hang out and talk.  This year however, she has been recovering slowly and standing for long periods of time has not been easy for her.  My cousin Isabel and I decided that we would show our gratitude for our Mae Mae by cooking the Thanksgiving meal (other than the Turkey).  Mae Mae was very thankful that we did this for her, and it felt great to help out someone who has done so much for me in my life.  I love exercising acts of gratitude, and even though this time of the year is the time to give thanks, being thankful is something that can be expressed throughout the year.  I have so much to be thankful for in my life, and it is great to know that I have so many people in my life to be grateful for. 

Industry Research

While researching my dream job I realized that I need to get more of a firm idea as to what specific job I would like to go into.  There are so many aspects of the business world which makes it hard to decide the exact path that I would like to take.  I am majoring in Economics in college and I would like to think that after my undergraduate studies at whatever college I go to I will have more of an idea as to the exact position that I would like to fill.  A lot of positions in business are very similar, and most of the jobs that I researched sounded very interesting to me, and I am excited to be pursuing a career in business.  My dream job and dream location match up very well and are very attainable, and I would like to hope that one day I could have my dream job with my dream house in my dream location.  If anything this affirmed that business is the field that I am interested in pursuing.  I did not truly know how expensive it was to live in California and how much money is spent on things other than just rent.  My future plans have no changed, I would like to be a business executive and with the average salary in California I would be able to afford living in the bay area.  I am so excited to further my professional studies in college and in future internships to hopefully get on the path toward my dream job.  It is crazy to think that everything that I do today has important ramifications in my future, and I have always worked incredibly hard to give myself a wider range of opportunities.  I am very happy that my dream job lines up with my dream location and I will work very hard to ensure that my dreams become a reality.

The Definition of Success

Success is making a difference in your life or the lives of others.  Being in a very important leadership role here at Cal High, one of my biggest personal goals for myself in school is making a difference on campus, whether that be planning events for the student body or getting students involved in more activities such as clubs and sports.  As a leadership class as a whole, our goal for the year has been to make a difference at school to improve school culture, and although there have been a few set-backs, as a class we are striving to initiate change.  Making a difference is such a broad definition of success, but success comes in different forms to different people.  You don't need money to be successful.  Success is something you define for yourself, not something that society can define for you.  My standards for success come from both my parents and teachers that I have had in the past and this year.  My parents show me success by making a difference in my life.  By providing for my brother and I, they show me what success looks like for a parent.  My dad shows me success in the professional world by making a difference in the pharmaceutical industry and providing a platform for doctors to communicate that was not available prior to the inception of his company.  My teachers show me success by making a difference in the lives of their students.  Although students don't always appreciate teachers, teachers show you success on a daily basis by teaching you information that is important in your future.  I will know that I have achieved success when I make a difference in other people's lives, as well as my own.  This happens often, and I like to say that I achieve my definition of success everyday.  Success shouldn't be something that is occasional, there should always be opportunities to be successful.  To be successful I am willing to do almost anything.  Success is such an important part of life, and to see the definition of success as achieving wealth, respect, or fame really bothers me.  Success shouldn't be defined as a material thing like money.  Success shouldn't be something that is more available to certain people.  Success should be attainable for all, and success should be something that is easily achievable, because when success is defined as something that isn't easy, people live their day-to-day lives feeling unsuccessful and worthless.  Changing the definition changes the meaning.  Success is achieving your goals, success is being happy, success is making a change, and success is making a difference.