Junior year is one of the most, if not the most important year of high school. This is the year where you finally start to form a solid path for where you want to go in the future and what you want to do. The classes and activities you involve yourself in, both inside and outside of school, play a large role in how universities choose their future alumni. Being immersed in a variety of tasks, both academic and personal, often requires good time management to avoid being mentally crushed. This planning can go days, weeks, or even months in advance. Despite this, one thing that I am truly thankful for is each and every day that I have, which can often be overlooked in the grand scheme of planning and preparation for the immediate and long term future. 

Waking up in the morning, like so many other things in life, is never truly guaranteed. So, when I wake up, I am grateful for the opportunity I have each day to be that little bit more productive, to help someone out when they need it, to figure out what I need to improve about myself. Waking up every day serves as a statement that the story of my life, with all its ups and downs, isn’t over yet.

During the day, it’s common to turn on your mental autopilot and go through the same routine of waking up, getting ready for school, going to school, and coming home to do a variety of things like homework, talking with your family, or doing some cleaning around the house. I am certainly not exempt from this. However, every day, I get to see and interact with people who make my day better and less dull. I get to talk to my parents and grandmother, who always want to know what I’m doing and who always make clear how much they care about me. I get to talk to my classmates, who sometimes need help from me or can help me when I don’t understand something. And I get to talk to my friends, both during and outside of school, who are never boring and will always be there to have discussions with me about anything, from school to personal life to the most random things like stupid YouTube videos. These people are a big part of what makes life enjoyable for me and keep me mentally energized.

Even the most stressful parts of each day can be beneficial. The workload that never gets any lighter serves as a constant reminder of my real life responsibilities as a student, while the different expectations of me as a son, brother, and overall member of a family remind me that I can’t always think about just myself. Especially during this month of November, when I have only one parent in the household, every day holds me accountable to taking care of both my family and myself. 

One of the most important things is that every day, I spend time preparing for tomorrow. By spending today preparing for tomorrow, I can make tomorrow a little bit easier. Of course, no one knows what tomorrow truly brings until it arrives, but even the smallest of mental or physical preparations can keep you from being completely thrown off. As such, I am thankful for the time that I have every day to think about and prepare for tomorrow.

At the end of every day, I also try to spend time reflecting on my productivity during the day. I ask myself a variety of questions about what I did and didn’t do. Did I do my chores without being asked? Did I finish all of my assignments? What did I do to spend time with my family? What could I have done differently or better? Not all of these questions have easy or straightforward answers. Despite this, I am still thankful for every day’s pondering questions, because without those questions, I would never be able to improve myself for my own sake or the sake of those around me.

Each “normal” day may seem insignificant when compared to the amount of days most of us have lived and will continue to live. However, we have no future if every present day isn’t spent to forge it. I am truly thankful for every day and for everything that the day represents.