As Thanksgiving approaches, we must remember to be thankful for all the amazing people in our lives; we shouldn’t restrict our thanks to one day, we should appreciate what we have whenever we can. When you feel gratitude towards someone, let them know. Even the smallest indication of appreciation can turn someone’s day around, especially since words have power. I used to believe that words gained power from their limited use, causing me to sparingly say things like “I’m thankful to have you in my life” and “I love you”. However, I recently learned that words gain their power from their effect on the recipient. If the recipient is in an unfortunate state of mind, even a simple statement such as “thank you for always putting a smile on my face” could really resonate with them. By showcasing our gratitude, we are able to prevent social isolation by simply making the people around us feel valued, encouraging them to be a part of our society.

I am choosing to practice conveying my gratitude this week by taking the time to write personalized notes of gratitude to hand out to those that had a profound impact on my life. Although it may be hard for many people to take the time to actually write notes of thanks, it does not take much time to even pass on a thank you or any statement of gratitude. Longhorns, please don’t hold back: join the fight against social isolation by conveying your appreciation!