The Value of Appreciation: The People Who Change Our Lives

*Appreciation: gratitude; thankful recognition.

"Appreciation and gratitude are a must if you choose to become the architect of increased happiness and your own fulfillment."

                                                                                                                                             -Doc Childre

                Appreciation…what does it mean? There’s the dictionary definition, but simple reading the definition of appreciation isn’t going to change how we show appreciation.

                We had a great discussion in English class this week; it was about the values we value. One of my values was appreciation. Appreciation is important and in this blog I’m going to take my chance to appreciate the many people who have come into my life.

We meet new people in our life almost every day and we also have the people who stick with us for years, but never do we say, “I appreciate you for being in my life.” It seems to me that we don’t exactly show our “token of appreciation” to the people who matter. To admit, I have not told my parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, or coaches that I appreciate them being there for me. I have a best friend, although I won’t mention her name, who has been with me through thick and thin. She has done so much for me that it amounts to so much more than what I give to her. Lately, I have been acting kind of rude and unappreciative to her. I know that a best friend shouldn’t act like that, but I haven’t really thought about how much friends mean to you until they’re gone. So, if she’s reading this (and I hope she is), I’m sorry and I appreciate you for being in my life.

                I have this teacher, she’s kind of crazy but she’s hilarious! Her class is the climax of my day and honestly, I wish our class could just sit and chat with her all day. She teaches us life lessons and always has the BEST stories to go with them. She pushes us to use our creative minds to create something AMAZING! But overall, I have to say that she is one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. I’m also pretty sure that my classmates would agree with me also. But I never noticed how much someone can make a difference in our lives by spending 55 minutes in class with her. I never realized how much she shows her care and her appreciation for her students being there. With that being said, I would just like to tell Mrs. Caffey and my classmates, I appreciate you all for being in my life. As a senior, I also have the best class sponsor in the world. She does so much for the senior class and I appreciate her for being in my life as well.

                Among the many values that we should have, I can whole-heartedly say that appreciation is one that we should all have at the top of our list. We should all remember that no matter how big or small of a change that someone can make in our life, we should all appreciate that they were there to spend time on us. So the life lesson for this week: show those you care about how much you appreciate them for being in your life.