Last week, Brunonians traveled far and wide to observe Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrating family, food and gratitude. Every year, when the day rolls around, my family embarks on a special tradition to give thanks: We go around the dinner table and share one physical thing, one person and one aspect about ourselves that we are thankful for. But as I got older, instead of only playing this game while eating an entire turkey, we made it a weekly tradition, which kept us positive in gloomy times.
While I was sometimes reluctant to interrupt candid dinner conversations to share personal reflections, doing so taught me the importance of gratitude, which I try my best to practice at Brown. Our community could benefit from a similar style of gratitude recognition. Though Brown students likely demonstrate gratitude in their own ways, practicing it more often will open our eyes to all the positive things happening around us, no matter how small, boosting overall optimism and happiness on campus.
The evidence is clear that practicing gratitude will make you happier. In a study, psychologists found that those who wrote about things they were grateful for each week were happier and more optimistic than those who did not. A Glassdoor survey found that 53% of employees say they would stay longer at their job if their boss were more grateful, and 81% would work harder. Two years ago, a group of researchers discovered that people who practiced “gratitude interventions” — daily and conscious practices of gratitude — experienced more positive moods, better mental health and reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Some observational studies even suggest that practicing gratitude may lead to a longer life.
Although Brown is viewed as the “Happy Ivy,” having campus gratitude practices will make it even happier. In other words, Brown should be the “Happy and Grateful Ivy.” There are many ways in which Brown students can express their gratitude, which I usually think about in two categories: private and public.
A private expression of gratitude might be something like taking a moment to thank someone mentally, meditating, praying or making a personal gratitude journal. While these actions are great, public expressions of gratitude would not only be helpful for the one expressing the gratitude, but also for those who receive extra thanks.
These public forms of expressed gratitude could include writing a thank-you card, sharing your gratitude verbally, or thanking someone face-to-face, like a professor after a lecture, Brown Dining staff for keeping us fed or custodial staff for keeping our spaces clean. You can also thank those closest to you — your roommates, your friends, your family. The next time your roommate fills the Brita or saves you a seat at dinner, you can do more than smile and nod.
However you choose to express your gratitude, you should make a conscious effort to make it a part of your daily routine. Not only will this make everyone’s day a little bit better, but it will make expressing future gratitude easier and less awkward. In fact, here is my practice: Since returning to campus after Thanksgiving break, I am grateful for Brown’s Open Curriculum, dedicated professors, beautiful campus buildings, maintained campus green spaces, reading period and functional dorm heating (well, sometimes). If everyone at Brown made this a part of their routine, we could become the “Happy and Grateful Ivy” and continue to shine as a loving and connected campus community.
Clay Edelson ’29 can be reached at clayton_edelson@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
