Gratitude Essay

The effort to walk back to the classroom from the field was not worth the hassle. But I
had to escape the field, the place that, in my opinion, had crashed my dream of excelling as an
athlete. I thought that that had to be the worst athletic performance in my high school life. I had
been a runner for a long time and had not felt hopeless like I did after this race. I wanted to bury
my face in my sweaty palms and just cry. The sport had been getting in the way of my education,
but I was not excelling in it as I expected. There was nothing to show for the sacrifices I had
made. With the lack of confidence in my abilities, I just sat on this bench with a long sad face. I
then met my destiny helper, who changed my life for the better.
“Young lady, that was a good fight on the track today!”. I heard from behind. For a
minute, I never thought the comment was directed toward me. I looked up and saw a young lady.
She was the new school counselor who had joined the school about a week earlier. I smiled and
then looked away. She then sat next to me and placed her arms on my shoulders. I felt a wave of
relief and reassurance. I just broke down into tears. She did not utter a word for the next few
minutes.
After a while, I could not tell how long; I stopped crying and told her that I felt weak and
unqualified for such races. I ranted about how sports had taken my concentration from

Surname 2
academics. I thought I would get a career from that, but I was only headed for failure. She
listened for a while without talking. She then told me that I had a chance to accomplish my goals
both in sports and academically. She said, “I want you to know that you can overcome any
obstacle, but you must consciously take care of your mental health first.” The battle is won first
in our minds and then in real life. I had never heard such words before. “But my mental health
was in good shape,” I thought. We spoke, and it was getting late, so we parted, and she asked me
to see her the following day in her office.
I pondered over what we had discussed that night. From that day, I would meet her often.
During every meeting, she would start our conversation with this question, “are you still taking
care of your mental health?” she was the key I needed to have a turnaround in my life. Since
then, I became more mindful of my habits and started meditating and journalling, and not only
did my athletic performance improve, but also my academic performance.
I have never forgotten the day our paths crossed. I will forever be grateful because my
encounter with my mentor and counselor was life-changing. We met when I was very broken.
She is the one person who gave me the foundation for the success I have today. My life changed
for the better. I let her know how grateful I am. We still talk to date, and I am happy and thankful
I met her.