The DO

Growth, patient openness and free food: What health care workers are grateful for this season

By The DO Staff

11.22.25

“Gratitude is my fragrance” is what I once wrote on my bathroom mirror with red lipstick after moments of despair. It was not to shy away from or dismiss the troubling emotions I was feeling at that time, but rather to help myself see the full spectrum of human emotion. While I felt burdened, there was still beauty and love. Noticing paradoxes like this has taught me openness and adaptability, and life is full of contradictions that have challenged my ability to hold multiple feelings at once.