If you’re reading this, it means we will be back Monday, November 29.

We’re about to take a break for a few days while we get school off to celebrate my birthday, colonialism, and the concept of gratitude—in that spirit, here are some things that Bwog staffers are grateful for.

For convenience, I have sorted these into some categories.

Bwog is thankful for strangers who do random acts of kindness:

• Everybody who held the door for me whenever I was carrying five things of food walking back from Ferris before indoor dining started
• The person outside the early voting site on Broadway who offered to take my photo with the sign when I took a picture of it
• The nice person who asked if I was okay when I inhaled water outside a cafe on 21st Street
• Whoever found my lion
• People whose favorite Wes Anderson film is Fantastic Mr. Fox
• People who say “thank you” when you do something nice for them
• Everyone who has swiped me into a dining hall this semester
• The man who called me chivalrous
• People who commiserate about hating Sylvia Plath 
• People who are unpretentious about music and singing 

Bwog is also thankful for animals who do random acts of kindness:

• Any and all dogs on campus for the serotonin boost
• The rats I see sometimes on/near my stoop
• My friend’s adorable dog for sitting on my lap during a long car ride even though it made my leg fall asleep
• Dogs, and my dog specifically
• My lion, Ari Arieh Sasha “Mazo ball” Chesed
• My roommate’s cat

Bwog is thankful for inanimate objects:

• The stoplight to cross Broadway, for always turning red right when I approach to cross for my daily 8:40s
• The Altschul elevator for being so speedy (and rickety)
• The Diana basement level bathroom for being consistent
• Water
• Antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer 
• Hamilton. for being open 24/7.
• Trader Joe’s Lavender Hand Sanitizer Spray
• Weighted blankets 
• Crocs

We’re also thankful for other students (particularly sustainable development majors) who are also going through it:

• Barnumbia (ya, I said it. get over it) students for looking out for each other through everything that has happened so far this semester. (If you have a problem with portmanteaus, you might also object to the word “blog,” from “web” and “log,” or “bwog,” from “blog” and “blue and white.”)
• The person next to me in class who gave me an answer to a crossword clue I was struggling on
• Susdev and Environmental Science & Sustainability majors who overlap in so many of my classes and whom I can rely on for support/friendship/mutual climate anxiety
• All of the susdev majors I’ve met in the past few weeks who are always so supportive
• All my study group members who have seen me at all hours of the day, in all states of mind. For dealing with me.
• The feeling when you become friends with people in your classes and you’re no longer suffering along but instead can make fun of your professor together. Literally makes the college experience bearable.
• My friend who stopped by my room at 4 am to decide if life has purpose 
• People who tell you they liked what you said in class after class
• People who use aloofness and pretension to mask their insecurity, for making me realize the world truly is bonkers stupid wild
• Anya, for telling me about the person who found my lion
• My dormmates who leave some excellent communal leftovers

Bwog is thankful for … Bwog?:

• My editors, for cleaning up this mess of a post
• People who value me
• Bwog freshmen. for being full of light.
• Bwog, for convincing me to take care of myself 

Now, for some potpourri:

• Hewitt pizza
• My friends 4 being there
• Ferris grilled cheese/tomato soup Wednesdays. For being the only good Ferris lunch.
• My lactase enzymes for finally giving up the ghost. Thanks for 21 glorious years
• Ferris tater tots
• Dining Hall donuts
• The kids I teach for teaching me how to think quickly and innovate
• Caramel hot chocolate with whipped cream 
• Cold days when you can smell the wind 
• Friends who randomly invite you to things 
• Trader Joe’s tortilla scoopers
• Spinach, for making me feel healthy 
• Tea with honey
• New months
• Google Sheets, and its many functions, and friends who will teach them to you
• Amtrak—for taking me to my friend
• Instant coffee
• Fall foliage around campus
• Ferris lentil soup 
• NYC tap water
• Spotify
• Weed
• This emoji: 
• Central Park
• The fast part of the alphabet song with the letters lmno
  • This is so funny to me because it is both a coherent statement on its own, and a play on the phrase “lmao” and alphabetical squence “lmno”

Bwog is especially thankful for the bevy of staff, faculty, colleagues, and other university-related and non-university-related people who do crucial work to keep us going:

• The 2 am McBain security guard for letting me get in even though I was using a replacement ID card and it doesn’t work with the entrance scanner. You’re a real one.
• The front desk lady in Brooks/Reid hall who calls everyone “love”. I would die for her.
• Each Diana and Liz’s Place employee for dealing with a rush of students right after class periods end and providing us with sustenance every day
• The person who works the salad bar in Ferris, who does not get to stop moving through their entire shift
• All of the baristas on campus, Morningside Heights, Manhattan, NYC, and the world
• My advisor for being lovely and helpful
• The stand at the Sunday farmers market that makes incredible blueberry muffins
• The person who let me into [REDACTED to protect identity] without swiping
• Rosa, the front desk lady at Nuss. For being a kind beautiful soul
• Prof. Yesilevskiy. for being my advisor and also the best professor in the MechE department
• Les, the janitor who cleans floor 6 of hamilton. For being exceedingly nice to me every time I do psets in there till 3 am.
• Prof. Moore of the sociology department for always having my back
• Whoever solved the Furnald hot water issue
• The student workers, for being willing to advocate for their wellbeing and that of their successors
• The security guards who let me go through the metal detector without checking my bag extensively because I see them on a daily basis
• Professors with empathy
• My advisor supporting me in many endeavors

And of course, you, dear reader, for letting us do our thing.

Rat via Bwarchives