Arcadia Ireland

This is the first time in eighteen years where we haven’t had students on the ground in Ireland during the much-celebrated Thanksgiving holiday. For years we had the joy of watching students form groups of new friends and fellow study abroad students to prepare a feast they would speak about for years! We provided turkeys and sprouts and potatoes and pies to students in Galway, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Dublin and Clare and smiled with satisfaction as we watched the end results of their efforts. Since beginning my role with Arcadia University, I have slowly grown to expect the same feeling I experience every year around Thanksgiving. It’s a feeling of togetherness, a pre-Christmas sort of vibe as I hear talk of turkeys and sprouts, a cosy warm fuzzy feeling if you like. I get it every year, and this one is no exception.  

As we sit within a continued strange time of COVID-19 and disruption to our lives, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the things we are grateful for this Thanksgiving. I have recently started teaching my four-year-old how to be grateful on our daily walk to school. It is a slow process as he often interrupts to show me stones or the colour of the sky but he is learning that not everyone has a warm coat or a comfortable bed to lay in, that many people don’t even have the chance to go to school. My examples are simple but he appears to be taking it in because I believe it is important for be in the world with an attitude of gratitude. Research shows that being grateful actually extends our life. If we are grateful, we are happy. If we are happy, we are healthier, generally. If we are healthier then our life expectancy is stronger and longer. We are more optimistic and can overcome difficult times with more resilience if we maintain an attitude of thankfulness.  Simple.  

Since March of this year hit, my level of gratitude hasn’t necessarily increased but as I sit and think about it, I know that I am grateful for different things since COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, I’ve had to shift my expectations about how to create happiness. Through time, I’ve learned that happiness isn’t always about getting on a flight to a warmer climate or to browse around shops all day. It is, I am learning, about the simple things. It was always there for me I think but this year through lockdowns and restrictions and working from home, there is perhaps more time to be with myself and tap into those simple things. As we prepare for students coming to Ireland in January, we are encouraging them to think about Study Abroad in a new way. To think about their time in Ireland in a local way and to engage in local communities.  Perhaps this will create a new level of gratitude among the Arcadians of Spring 2021 Semester.  

Without further ado and in no particular order, here is what I’m grateful for….

• The outdoor space on my doorstep
• The park that I can walk and run in and watch the flowers change with the seasons
• The nature I can rely on even through illness and restrictions
• Being able to feed the birds for the last few months
• Watching a family loved one fully recover from COVID-19
• My family and friends and colleagues
• Being able to connect with my colleagues in a new way on new projects
• Getting more in tune with the virtual world of learning
• The delicious bread that my local bakery supply
• Having a bakery within walking distance of my house
• Getting to know my local shop owner and receiving the odd free coffee from him

To end with a quote - 

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.” (Rumi)