Celebrating National Gratitude Month at Kean
By Julia Strugala | Published November 17, 2022
Each November, the United States observes National Gratitude Month as a time to reflect on what we are grateful for. Gratitude is much more than having good manners; how often do we say thank you without actually taking a moment to feel thankful?
As young children, everyone is taught to give thanks with a gift or a small gesture. It is a social norm to extend gratitude to those that help us, but it is just as important to recognize the minuscule, everyday things.
According to Harvard Health, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Kean Ocean is celebrating National Gratitude Month with weekly self-care worksheets. Each worksheet contains self-care tasks to complete and reflect on. At the end of each week, students are to fold up their papers and place them in a basket on the Kean Ocean campus life table.
Students that participate are entered in a chance to win a Kean Ocean prize. The person with the most completed self-care practices and most thoughtful reflections will be awarded weekly.
Kean Ocean’s Wellness Network is hosting self-care events throughout the month of November, from energy mind mapping to meditation.
As for the Kean Union campus, one out of ten students were aware that November is National Gratitude Month. Most were not planning to celebrate in any way besides Thanksgiving.
Jessica Czapalski, a sophomore at Kean with a major in psychology said, “now that I know it is National Gratitude Month, I will probably restart my gratitude journal as that’s something I’ve been meaning to do.”
A gratitude journal is a great way to see a transformative change in your mental well-being. Studies from National Public Radio have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress, and improve interpersonal relationships.
Keeping a gratitude journal has also been found to decrease materialism and bolster generosity among adolescents. The benefits of gratitude are endless and can positively impact physical, mental, and emotional health.
Kaisey Stoddart, a senior at Kean with a major in biology, plans to spread gratitude this month, ‘through words with loved ones, giving random just-because gifts, and paying it forward.”
Paying it forward is one way to cause a domino effect of kindness throughout a community. If someone does something kind to help you, take that energy and put it towards someone else that may need it. That person may feel inspired and continue on with their day by helping others as well.
Paying it forward can also apply to paying for the person behind you in drive-through lines. It is a simple gesture that can make a stranger’s day, and they might even continue the chain.
Gratitude is as simple as recognizing the little things that made the day brighter. Taking the time to spread kindness will make all the difference.