What is gratitude? Directly from the Oxford Language Dictionary, gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” To sum that up, having gratitude means that you’re appreciative of the people around you or for something that impacts your life. 

Throughout this year, under the guidance of interim president of Mr. Slomski, students on both the Prep and Villa campuses are writing a letter of gratitude each quarter. The letters are directed towards a different recipient each quarter. For example, the first quarter the students wrote a letter thanking their parents. They have since added letters to someone that influences their life and a teacher that’s made an impact on them. 

However, the important part is not the students making sure their letters are turned in. The important part is that the Prep and Villa students understand what gratitude is and what appreciation means. They should be able to learn and figure out what gratitude means to them.

With gratitude being spread around the campuses, some of the students gave their personal understandings of what gratitude means to them.

“Gratitude is somewhat a way of life,” senior Charles Agresti said. “We should be living our lives every day with the mindset of being thankful for the things people do for us.”

Along with living a life full of thankfulness, freshman Brandon Lin had more to add.

“To me, gratitude means to be appreciative of the gifts we were given,” Brandon said.

Another student in her senior year at Villa, Taylor Morey, said, “Personally, when I think of gratitude, I think of my parents. They’ve given me so much and I feel very appreciative of them and thankful to have them as my parents.”

The students’ responses to what gratitude means show they all see it as being thankful for the people that surround them. On the other hand, the teachers don’t seem to have too much of a different mindset.

“Gratitude in my own words are the opportunities given to you,” Prep social studies teacher Mr. Fleming said. “It’s the idea of being thankful for the opportunities and the people that presented them.” 

Gratitude seems to have the same definition to most people on Prep and Villa campuses. It’s a mutual agreement that it’s the action of being thankful and appreciative. Gratitude is something important to have in life. It’s a positive connection between people. But it leaves everyone with the thought: what does gratitude mean to them?