Favorite Words

“Tomorrow.”

            Tomorrow is an awfully beautiful word in tumultuous times. With the looming possibility of college rejection letters and low grades as constant weight on teenage minds across campus, it is important to remember that tomorrow will come. As President Obama reminded the American people prior to the election results, "no matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning." Tomorrow is a promise, a blessing. Tomorrow reminds one of just how small he or she really is. One’s actions cannot delay or prevent the coming of tomorrow. Even if it feels like the end of the world, it’s not. The moon will lower and dawn will break, bringing on its back the possibility of a new day.

            As the sun rises, it greets the world with daylight. “Hello,” a common greeting heard dozens of times in a single rotation of the sun is a beautiful word. Hello is friendly and welcoming. Hello is a sign of common courtesy and a unified culture. Hello comes from strangers, friends, and family, all acknowledging a new presence in their life. Hearing a simple hello means that even when one feels invisible, he or she is not as someone is offering a greeting.

            Similar to hello, is “thank you.” As hello is a recognition of a presence, thank you is a recognition of gratitude. A simple thank you is a reminder that an action has been noticed and appreciated. It may be as simple as handing as passing a paper to student in class or something as large a guardian paying for his or her child’s education, a thank you is the most basic expression of gratitude. Thank you is not grandiose or always the adequate way to compensate for a favor or gift, but it is an easily understood and communicated.