52 Weeks Later

Gratitude Challenge - Week 52 - Did This Challenge Change You?

A year ago, as a new blogger desperate for ideas, I decided to follow a set of prompts called the 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge, committing to writing about gratitude each week for 52 weeks. That same July 2015, I went to my first concert, Imagine Dragons, and in July 2016, I again went to a concert, Big Gig. These concerts bookended a year of growth, development, and introspection. 

A year later, have I changed?

Absolutely.

At first, the practice of gratitude was incredibly tedious and unnatural. In the beginning weeks, I wrote posts that felt more obligatory than grateful. I worried that I could not force genuine gratitude and that my writing was a facade of true thanksgiving.

As time passed, the practice of gratitude became easy when what I was grateful for was positive. Passing tests, earning money, and working hard were all things I began to thank God for every day.

However, the true mark of gratitude, and the true change I felt, occurred when I became thankful for the negative events in my life. It is easy to bemoan the loss of a friend and pout, but instead, I learned to give thanks for the time spent with that person and then move on to new people. Lost opportunities open the door for better ones.

The practice of gratitude transformed my outlook on life, opening my eyes to the goodness in the world, in my surroundings, and in myself. I believe now that I can be grateful for everything, the good and the bad, and that this lifestyle will lead to happiness and fulfillment. Gratitude allows me to let go of the past and move to the future.

With the future in mind, that brings me to the changes in this blog. Obviously, I finished my gratitude challenge, but I do not want to abandon writing about gratitude. So, the 52 Weeks of Gratitude tab at the top of my blog has become simply a Gratitude section. It still holds all of my posts from the past year, but now it will expand to envelop future posts. In this section, I plan to continue writing about life, faith, and gratitude, just not as regularly as once a week.

I hope to strengthen the other sections of my blog (Books, Snacks, and Travel) in the next few months, and I am considering adopting another 52 week blogging challenge, but not until January. First, I want to see how I write without a prompt every week.

Back to the past year of gratitude because I cannot abandon my hard work just yet. Here are the prompts I followed for the year.

If you see a topic that looks interesting, I have links to all 52 posts below! A message of warning - my writing significantly improves as the year progresses, so the first few posts are a little rough,

1. 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge
2. A Letter to All My Exes
3. Family Move Night
4. My Best Friend
5. A Symbol of Unconventional Love
6. Mountain Sunsets
7. The Origin of Polyliteramore
8. A Thank You to My Enemies
9. My Struggle with Gratitude
10. Finding Humility in Vanity
11. Overcoming Adversity
12. Contagious Laughter
13. Success or Happiness
14. Carpe Ballo
15. Autumn
16. Snowglobe Moments
17. Required Reading
18. A Positive Forecast
19. The Neverending Journey
20. Sister From Another Mister
21. Winter
22. How Snapchat Increased My Confidence
23. Oculus
24. Invisible Man
25. Confessions of a Catholic School Girl
26. Meeting Christ 2,000 Years Later
27. Seeking Art
28. Nostalgia
29. Little Wonders
30. High School Un-Musical
31. Feminism for Life
32. Holland, Michigan
33. Anticipation
34. Spring
35. City to Suburbia
36. Where the Heart Is
37. Creating Polyliteramore
38. Lisztomania
39. Family Tree
40. Loyola Marymount University
41. Managing Free Time
42. My Prized Possession
43. Anne Frank
44. The First Day of Summer
45. A Message to the Class of 2016
46. Social Media for Book Lovers
47. Europe in Snapchats
48. Writing & Studying
49. Summer
50. Lessons Learned in Gratitude
51. 100 Thankful Things
52. 52 Weeks Later - this one!

Plus one bonus gratitude post - 16 Things To Do in 2016

And, most of all, I am so grateful for the people who read my blog. I know you are out there because I just reached over 4,000 pageviews. I hope that you enjoy my writing and that you can add a little gratitude to your lives and your world. Because gratitude is what our world needs right now.

"It is not the happy people who are thankful. It is the thankful people who are happy."