Thanksgiving season is once again upon us! As this time of year comes around, I find it very beneficial to reflect on the things I am thankful for. My life has been a constant whirlwind of busy schedules, personal, professional, and academic wise. On the flip side of these balances of life, I have been lucky to gain so much experience in all areas of life.
In other words, this is my last year at Illinois State. Coming here during COVID, I never thought that I would become nearly as involved as I became. With all of my opportunities and involvement in mind, I truly do have a lot to be thankful for. The abilities within the business world, especially here at Illinois State, allows such a broad range of growth for students who truly want to put in the work. For me, this enabled me to take advantage of opportunities that come across my plate and allowed me to maximize on them.
In regard to my time here as a whole, there are so many amazing things I have experienced thus far, with more opportunities on tap for next semester. I have had the chance to connect with so many likeminded people on the social media team and in organizations such as Women in Business. Being able to be surrounded by driven and goal-oriented people served me so much motivation in life, school, and work.
I have been able to experience the value of living on a campus such as Illinois State. I am thankful that even though it is a bigger public university, it truly has felt like home, even from the beginning. I have been able to foster my own bounds of independence while still feeling safe. My friends and I have been able to make our own lives here away from home with each other, but still have the ability to go back when needed. By living the miniature version of “adulting”, I can now feel more confident in going forward on my own in most aspects.
Much like many others, I found that my initial thoughts on a career coming in as a freshman did not pan out the way I imagined– in all the best ways possible. As a Business Administration major, I came to ISU looking into a potential career in sports, as it was a facet I had participated in for 10 years up to college. With the general nature of Business Administration education, my time in business law classes showed me that my interests lie in the legal field. This is something I am incredibly thankful for, as I now truly feel what my purpose is.
With all of this in mind, I do not think there are enough hours in the day to list everything I am thankful for in my lifetime or even in the past three years. Given tasks such as writing these blogs has given me the chance to really sit and think about all the positives of life, as well as be able to express myself in the way I know best. The amount of thankful feelings I have in regards to all my aspects of life are overflowing, and this is the perfect time of year to tap into yours too.