Thanksgiving Homework: Gratitude

by Betsy Chapman

Because it is the month where our Thanksgiving holiday falls, November has become the Month of Gratitude for many people. You may be expressing your gratitude at the Thanksgiving table with your family, or through a gratitude journal or social media posts. I want to suggest another kind of gratitude exercise: write a letter to your ’28 and sneak it into their luggage before they head back to campus (or if you are not with them, send an email).

Here are some prompts to help you think about such a letter. As you think about your student, what makes you most proud regarding:

  • Their character
  • Their values
  • The way they treat other people
  • The way they view the world
  • Their maturity
  • Their intellectual curiosity
  • How they represent themselves in the world
  • The love they show to family members
  • The things that make them uniquely the: whether that is sense of humor, sense of style, hobbies/interests, etc.

You will note that I didn’t say anything about grades or achievements in the list above. Students tend to be perennially worried that if they are not getting all As and earning every leadership position possible, their parents and loved ones will be disappointed in them.

So as you think about writing a letter to your student about all the reasons they make your grateful or proud, go light on things they achieve, and go heavy on who they are as a human being. It may help more than you know to get a letter from you talking about what you love about their essential spirit, not that you are proud of them for grades, etc. (even though I know you are!)

 

Contact

To contact the Office of Family Engagement or Family Communications, please visit our contact page.

 

For mental health assistance: 336-758-CARE (2273) is a service that ensures someone will always be available (i.e., 24/7 M-F, weekends and university holidays) to provide caring and thoughtful consultation services for Wake Forest students in need of mental health assistance or support. You can also visit we.wfu.edu for resources.