Gratitude

I received some absolutely exciting news today-- I got a scholarship for next year!  It was completely unexpected, as I didn't apply for it, it was done automatically through the biology department.  I got an email that said something to the effect of "your student financial account has been updated", and I fully expected that when I logged on, I would see that I owed the school money for something or other, and that I couldn't register for more classes until it was paid.

Needless to say, it was a welcome surprise.

Actually, that is a big understatement.  It turns out that the scholarship is funded by a former biology department chair and his wife who have long since retired, but keep giving back to the students.  And I find myself so humbled by that.  How many people do you know who give hundreds of dollars to people they don't know?  It has made me even more aware of the amazing influence people can have in the world, that we can help others through the means that we are given.  It has been an interesting semester for me.  I have had a lot of "learning opportunities" (code for "sometimes life sucks"), but through them I have become more and more aware of the difference that we can make in each others' lives.  I have had so many instances this semester where some kind words from a friend, or some compassion shown, or an offer to help have made all the difference in my day.  And it has made me realize more and more how selfish I am.  That all too often I don't think of others, or when I do, sometimes I don't do anything about it, and it remains a lonely thought in my brain, never fully actualized.  I have learned so much through others' examples lately, and it just makes me want to be better.  I hope that someday I have the means to help others, but more importantly, that if or when that happens, I have the heart to want to help.