Appreciation is the best path forward

Appreciation is the best path forward

by Tiffany Wong, Reporter

The forecasted sunny, warm day turned stormy and gray after I misplaced my English essay and realized that I had forgotten to complete my physics homework the night before.

Dinnertime was quiet that night. I was attempting to tune out my parents’ questions about my day.

To me, silence was better than telling them that I’d bombed my math test, that someone had spilled food on my new sweater and that I’d  tripped over a backpack in front of Dobbins.

It wasn’t until my mother dabbed at her eyes with a napkin and slammed the door to her bedroom that I realized how much I had hurt her by not responding.

We take the time every day to care for ourselves. What am I wearing? How do I look? Who should I hang out with? As a result, we easily forget how our actions affect others, focusing on our own needs and interests instead.

When we fail to consider others, we weaken our relationships with the people in our lives.

As students, appreciation is the reason why some of us thank the kitchen staff for providing us with food every day; the librarians for helping us find books and research materials; and our teachers for their dedication to educating others.

When we attempt to show our appreciation, we often encounter the problem of finding the most appropriate way to do so. I typically show my appreciation by talking to other people about their concerns.

Our appreciation may not get recognition immediately, but the best way to show others we care is to simply keep trying. Ultimately, appreciation and patience go hand-in-hand.

Appreciating those who care about our well-being helps us understand the importance of each person in our lives.

Who helped you out with math homework? Did anyone make you smile recently?

By learning to recognize the little ways in which people express their concern for us, we begin to understand how we can appreciate them as well.

Personally, after that night, I understood that communication serves as appreciation in my family. And appreciation has turned a quiet, tense part of the day into a time for us to eat, talk and laugh together.