I believe in the power of saying thank you. I believe in the power of being grateful. I believe in sending hand-written thank you notes. I hated writing them as a kid. But my mama raised me right, so after every birthday or Christmas or graduation out came the stationery. At the time, I didn't really understand what it meant to be grateful. I usually asked my mom what I should write and then I would quickly scribble the same thing in all of them. But along the way, something changed. I have grown to love writing thank you notes. I want people to know that I care. I want them to know that I appreciate them. I want them to know that I took the time to write a handwritten note. I love getting mail -- and so I want to share that love with others.
But importantly, somewhere along the line, I learned to truly be grateful. I recall a time during my freshman year of college -- I was walking across the beautiful campus of Monmouth College, the autumn leaves changing to deep yellow, and it struck me -- I didn't have to be there. It wasn't a right, it was a privilege. A privilege that I should be thankful for. So during those four years, I became a prolific thank you note writer. It's a habit that will most definitely continue, and I hope one day I can instill the same sense of thankfulness in my own children.
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