Gratitude
Gratitude is an extremely important aspect of life and necessary to flourish.
I learned that Robert Emmons is the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude. There are many surprising important physical, psychological, and social impacts gratitude can have.
I learned about these transformative effects by reading Why Gratitude is Good by Robert Emmons on theUC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center site in my Flourishing class.
One of our assignments was to keep a gratitude journal for 3 weeks; however, I have continued to keep my gratitude journal.
It is a very nice way for me to unwind and reflect on how blessed I am.
Professor Stiles recommended the app Get Gratitude.
I decided to use this app myself, and I have really enjoyed it. It gives me reminders to write in my journal and has been extremely helpful.
I think being a student at a Jesuit university is really great for me and for my future. I think it will allow me to explore and search for many things. It allows for me to think critically about things in society and grow as a person. I believe it will allow for me to be a more experienced, understanding, knowledgeable, and whole person in society. Our university follows cura personalis, which means the care of the whole person. It is awesome to go to a school that focuses on this and keeps God in the picture since I am a religious person. Our university follows what James Martin says in that we should be men and women for others. I think going to a Jesuit university fosters life changing ideas that allow for students to become better, appreciative, helpful, caring, and loving people. The gratitude journal that we started in class fits into this because it allows us to see the good in more things. It allows us to become more appreciative and grateful. It encourages us to see that there are so many great things that occur in our lives that we constantly take for granted. It can also lead us to help others in need and care more about other people once we realize how much we have. Going to a Jesuit institution, learning more about what this means, and having this class to help me all make a huge impact on my life and my personal development.
