The last time Upper School student Hugh Ward '26 sat in the classroom that is now 3A in the Lower School, he was a first grader. In early November, a decade later, Ward returned to 3A to share an important and timely lesson with the Class of 2034 on the benefits of intentionally incorporating gratitude into one's life.

"What does the word gratitude mean to you? What does it mean to be grateful?" asked Ward to the class. "To be grateful for what you have," replied one student. "To be kind," said another.

"Gratitude, to me, is appreciating and acknowledging the good or positive things that happen to you. It's not only things that happen to you, but it's the things that other people do for you as well," said Ward. "There's a whole range of what you can do to show gratitude. Just saying 'thank you' is a form of showing your gratitude. Or, writing a note saying 'I was really appreciative of what you did for me.'"

Next, he asked the class to close their eyes, envision a typical day in their lives, and think about everything that happened to them and their daily interactions. What was the first thing that came to mind when they thought about gratitude? "Family," one student shared. "Being able to have a good breakfast," said another. Two other students were grateful for "squirrels" and "Fruity Pebbles," eliciting some laughs from the class, but Ward reminded the group that gratitude can range from big to little things.

"So, why am I giving this lesson? Well, I actually keep what's called a gratitude journal. Before I go to bed, I write down three things that I'm grateful for, and I do it every single night. I've been doing it for over two and a half years now. I started on March 18, 2022, after my sister recommended it to me, and, as of today, I have over 970 entries," he shared with the class. "My sister was keeping a journal before me and said that science shows that writing down and acknowledging the things you are grateful for will increase your happiness and energy levels. I didn't believe it at first. But then, when I started doing it, I actually felt elevated and way better and happier."

Ward shared that utilizing prompts and structures can be helpful for new journalers in incorporating the practice into their routines as it adds guidance on different ways to reflect on and show gratitude. For instance, each Monday in his journal is a "Mindful Monday," and he often adds prompts at the beginning of a new week for a positive character trait, like courage, or an action, like holding the door, that he would like to exemplify by the end of the week. "By writing 'holding the door for someone,' I'm consciously thinking about it. Then, I think I have a better chance to do that for someone, and it's a way for me to be nicer and more kind in my life," he explained.

The students received their own gratitude worksheets to begin practicing, and Ward challenged them to fill out at least three sections over the next week. He returned the following week to hear about the third graders' experience with exercise and what they had journaled. Several students enjoyed the exercise so much that they asked for full journals to keep growing their new habits of documenting gratitude.

We are grateful for older students like Ward who share their time and wisdom with their younger Gilman brothers in other divisions; thank you, Hugh! Thank you to Lower School counselor Laura Jordan and 3A teacher Jen Reiter for helping coordinate the visit.