Think of three good things that happened to you today. What comes to mind?

Junior year, as is the general consensus, was my hardest year of high school. Not necessarily because of school; it was a time when I began to seriously question what I wanted to do with my life, and also the year I grew most as a person. This can mainly be attributed to the fact that I made gratitude an integral part of my life.

Fatema, my cousin, has been one of my biggest inspirations since childhood. Her passion for journalism and writing is what led me to join TKC in the first place. She has always been my older sister, offering me the best advice and helping me navigate the twists and turns of high school. In the beginning of junior year, my mental health was at an all time low, and Fatema was the one to pull me out of it. She told me something simple: always find three good things that happened that day. This “three wins” system was a fast and simple exercise that not only changed my perspective, but helped me focus on the positive aspects of my life. No matter how bad my day went, I would always write down my “wins” for that day. Taking the time to write them out every night before going to bed helped me end each day on a positive note.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to my family, my friends, my teachers and the Kirkwood community. Looking back on my entries from last year, I see how much I have grown, and how much I have to be grateful for. Whether it was something as small as getting an awful English assignment out of the way, or as big as getting into my dream medical program, there were no limits to what I could put on the list, as long as it was something that made me happy. Now, as I am preparing to leave high school, my home and my family behind, this is one thing I plan on taking with me.