The holidays always make me feel grateful for all that I have in my life: my friends, my family, and my health. I remember to take in everything and appreciate more of what I am able to have. It's the best season in my opinion and it's why it is the most wonderful time of the year!

But I think a lot of us tend to forget to appreciate things in our lives soon after the new year excitement fades. We fixate on the tiny stresses we have and bury ourselves with our responsibilities until we leave ourselves with no more free time to reflect.

I'm so guilty for doing this. I get so caught up in school with all of the assignments I leave for the last second. I get so caught up in life's problems that I dwell on the difficulties instead of remembering to be grateful for the good.

I'm going to college and not many people can say that. Or I may be doing something that someone else may wish they can do. You never know what you have that someone else wants to be able to have.

One of the biggest wake-up calls I had this year was having ACL reconstruction surgery and not being able to walk on my own for a couple weeks. They told me that I could expect myself to not be able to do things on my own leading up to surgery and of course, I accepted that, but it wasn't until I really wasn't able to do anything that frustration hit.

Can you imagine walking for 21 years and all of sudden having to rely on someone else for little tasks, like carrying a cup of water or needing help to shower? It was not a fun time and I found myself buried in my despair.

That frustration and pain could have been so much different if I had focused on the healing my body was going through and how strong my body was for dealing with this. I was preparing to have a stronger ACL because, hello, it was new.

That's why I think it's important to take our triumphs and give it the weight it deserves. I'm learning to be proud of my successes and reflect on the good. Last year around this time, I fell into a funk. I was focusing all of my energy on the bad times I went through. I didn't feel happy. I cried all the time and honestly, I was miserable. I felt like a failure and felt like everything was going against me.

I went to see a therapist and that was the turning point I needed to rise above the negativity I was suffering. I learned that instead of dwelling on the bad, I needed to stop overlooking the good that followed.

It's something we lose track of once life comes at full speed and it's important to take the time to slow down and appreciate what life brings you.