Oh, 2020, you’ve been a bumpy road. However, looking at the bright side, you’ve helped us change our priorities and made us realize that the things we take for granted are actually blessings. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect time for us to make a list of things we are thankful for (and probably most of them won’t even be things).

Here is the list from our #brandwebbers:

Patricia – The thing I am most grateful for is the 7 am morning "alarm" shouting „Mum, wake up! Look, it’s morning already!” I am grateful for my wonderful husband, my dedicated parents with whom I got to spend more time this summer, and that the whole family is still safe and healthy. I am grateful for the beauty and calm of nature, for great food and for the joy and enthusiasm of my brandwebbers' team, I am grateful for new and old friends, new and old clients. I am grateful for being able to teach and continuously learn for and from my students.

Armand – I am thankful that everyone in my family and extended family (the brandwebbers) is healthy and safe. I am thankful for still being able to do my job, even from home, when needed. For the first time in my life, on new year’s eve, at midnight, I will wish that the new year is BETTER (not at least the same) than the one that just passed. And I will be thankful if that happens.

Andrei C. – I am thankful for getting the chance to be closer to my family (since I became a student I moved away from my hometown), to spend more time together in the lockdown, and to enjoy the things I have. I gave myself more time to do things that I like, I started to read books again (and I'm enjoying this a lot!) and I shared more of my time with the loved ones. I am also thankful for learning new things, being more motivated to try more, and be less scared of failures. It's been a wild year, with ups and downs, good and bad news, but I guess everyone is thankful for getting back to the roots, appreciating what they have, and rediscover themselves in these trying times.

Iulian – Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude. It has been a difficult year for all of us, but as one of my favorite songs says, "at the end of the storm, there's a golden sky". I am grateful for what I am, what I have, and for what I value the most, my family. We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. Give this wonderful day to thanks, to joy, to share, and to gratitude!

Irina – Surprisingly, I could say that 2020 was a good year for me and I have a lot of things to be grateful for: I finished my master’s with the highest grade, I enrolled in PhD, I joined Poloniq team (a really challenging project), I became an associate for teaching at the university – one of my dreams. Putting the professional accomplishments aside, in 2020 I got engaged, and I adopted 2 beautiful dogs. For everything that happened this year, I am grateful to all the people I’ve met and helped me become who I am today.

Ștefan – I’m thankful for having kept my health in these hard times, I’m thankful that the people close to me are also healthy, I’m thankful for doing what I love for a job.

Bianca – I am fully grateful for this year, even it was an atypical one, because I paid more attention to my health, I had more time to spend with my family, and I met cool people at my job.

Andrei L. – 2020 was a very important year in my life, as I finished high school and entered the student stage in some conditions that I could not even imagine a few years ago. I am very thankful because, even in this restrictive context, I strengthened my ability to smile even in difficult times, to extract beauty from any experience and to adapt to any conditions.  Also, it was a year in which I managed to combine the pleasant and the useful and in which I learned to manage my time very efficiently. From where I stand, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success", so with friendship and unity we can overcome anything.

Cosmin – I am thankful for being myself another year, keeping in mind only positive thoughts, and the most important thing, joking and being serious all the time, in a continuous balance.

Alexandra – I am grateful that my loved ones are healthy and that I can talk to them every day. I am grateful I can find the resources inside of me to keep up a positive mindset. Last but not least, I’m grateful for having all the comfort one could ask for, thing that made this period feel as normal as possible. I am grateful for the Internet and the fact that distance does not matter so much in this era, and that you can still fell close to your dear ones. I can’t imagine going through a pandemic in the past. Therefore, I am grateful for living in the here and now. As Nicky Minaj would say, “no, I’m not lucky, I’m blessed, yes!” 

Gabi – I am thankful I had a good excuse to stay inside. #introvert

What about you, what are you thankful for? Just take a moment and count all the blessings in your life.